JP2005004952A - Information recording medium, and method and device for recording information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for recording information, capable of preventing the impossibility of recording/updating specific information caused by the shortage of an area for a specific use (trial recording, driving control information or the like) other than the recording of user data. <P>SOLUTION: When detecting the impossibility of using a trial recording area for obtaining optimal recording/reproducing conditions in the combination of a recording medium with a recorder, trial recording is carried out in a data recording area, and management information including an address pointer indicating the position of the trial recording is recorded in a defect management area. Thus, a limit on the executable number of times of trial recording dependent on the size of the trial recording area is eliminated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information recording medium for digitizing and recording information, particularly to an information recording medium having an area for managing defects in the medium, and a method and apparatus for recording information on the information recording medium.

  With the progress of the information society, the transmission of information is steadily increasing in speed and capacity, and information recording media for recording and accumulating such information are desired to have higher speed and capacity.

  In a rewritable recording medium represented by an optical disk, recording is performed for initial defects such as pinholes generated in the manufacturing process and secondary defects such as scratches and dirt generated in actual use. In order to ensure the reliability of information, a function generally called replacement processing has been introduced. The replacement process is a process in which, when an error occurs in a track on which certain information is to be recorded and it is regarded as a defect, the track is replaced with another track and recording is performed.

  In a track where data is recorded, unique address information is recorded in advance in a format (such as a change in groove shape) different from the recording data (such as phase change of the recording film). In general, the address information recording position and the relative position of the recording data are determined in advance in association with the address information recorded in advance. In such an apparatus for writing information on an information recording medium, data is recorded and reproduced while referring to the unique address information. Therefore, when a replacement process is performed, it is regarded as a defect. It is necessary to manage the track address information replaced with the track address information as a history of replacement processing. Such processing is generally called “defect management”.

  In particular, in the case of a rewritable recording medium, since a single medium can be used by a plurality of apparatuses, some rewritable recording media have a defect management area used exclusively for defect management.

  By the way, in order to increase the recording density of information in order to increase the capacity of the information recording medium, it is required to record and reproduce information more precisely. On the other hand, the recording / reproducing characteristics change due to factors such as manufacturing variations of recording media and apparatuses and temperature changes in the operating environment of the apparatus. For this reason, in order to perform precise recording / reproducing in any case corresponding to various factors, it is required to optimize recording / reproducing conditions.

  In order to cope with this problem, a method for optimizing recording / reproducing conditions by a combination of a recording medium and an apparatus, and a recording medium having a test recording area for use in optimizing recording / reproducing conditions have been proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In addition, by providing a drive information recording area for recording the results of optimization of recording / playback conditions using a combination of recording medium and device, optimization processing efficiency (speeding up of device startup processing, etc.) is improved. Proposals have been made (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent No. 3099009 Japanese Patent No. 3285338

  However, in the method described in the related art, there is no mention of processing when a special purpose recording area such as a test recording area or a drive information recording area becomes unusable.

  When the trial recording area becomes unusable, the recording apparatus cannot optimize the recording / reproducing conditions, and it becomes difficult to ensure the reliability of the recorded information. In addition, even when the drive information recording area becomes unusable, it becomes impossible to leave the result of optimization of the recording / reproducing conditions in the recording apparatus. Every time replacement is performed, optimization processing is performed from the beginning, and the effect of speeding up the startup processing is lost.

  As an example in which the above-mentioned special purpose recording area becomes unusable, there is a write-once recording medium (write once medium). In the write-once recording medium, it is not possible to perform recording on the same track a plurality of times, so that the number of times of trial recording and update of drive information is naturally limited.

  The same applies to a recording medium that can be overwritten on the same track, even if the number of rewrites is limited. In particular, trial recording is the process of finding the optimum recording conditions, and the medium is stressed, such as recording with overpower. Therefore, the deterioration speed is faster than other areas, and the number of times information can be rewritten is determined by the number of trial recordings. Inconveniences such as this may occur.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention makes it impossible to record new information or reduce the reliability of recording even if a special purpose recording area such as a test recording area or a drive information recording area becomes unusable. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording medium, an information recording method, and an information recording apparatus capable of preventing the occurrence of the problem.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a non-user data area used for purposes other than user data recording. Provided. The information recording method records information that should originally be recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area, and management information related to recording the information to be recorded in the non-user data area in the predetermined area. Record.

  In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a test area used for test recording by a recording apparatus. The information recording method detects whether or not the test area is unusable when performing test recording. If it is detected that the test area is not unusable, the test recording is performed in the test area and cannot be used. If it is detected, trial recording is performed in the data recording area, and thereafter, management information relating to the trial recording in the data recording area is recorded in a predetermined area.

  In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a control information recording area for recording control information other than user data. Is done. The information recording method detects whether or not the control information recording area is unusable when recording the control information. If it is detected that the control information recording area is not unusable, the control information recording is performed. When the control information is recorded in the area and the control information recording area is detected to be unusable, the control information is recorded in the data recording area, and then the control information is recorded in the data recording area. Management information is recorded in a predetermined area.

  In the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a non-user data area used for purposes other than recording of user data, the data recording area Provided with an area that can be used for recording information that should be recorded in the non-user data area, and an area for recording management information relating to the recording of information to be recorded in the non-user data area. An information recording medium is provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a test area used for test recording by the recording apparatus, wherein the data recording area is a test area. An information recording medium is provided that includes an area that can be used for trial recording when the recording medium becomes unusable and a management area that can record management information related to the trial recording performed in the data recording area.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention, information comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a control information recording area for recording drive control information including recording / reproducing conditions depending on the combination of the recording apparatus and the medium A recording medium, a data recording area, an area that can be used for recording further drive control information when the control information recording area becomes unusable, and management related to drive control information recorded in the data recording area An information recording medium provided with a management area capable of recording information is provided.

  In a seventh aspect of the present invention, a data recording area for recording user data, a defect management area used for defect management of the data recording area, a test area used for test recording, an apparatus and a medium Provided is an information recording apparatus that records information while optimizing recording / reproducing conditions for an information recording medium having a control information recording area for recording drive control information including recording / reproducing conditions depending on the combination. The In the information recording apparatus, the detecting means detects whether or not the test area and the control information recording area are unusable. The test recording means performs test recording in the test area when the detection means detects that the test area is not usable, and in the data recording area when it is detected that the test area is not usable. The drive control information update means performs a test in the control information recording area when the detection means detects that the control information recording area is not usable, and in the data recording area when it is detected that the control information recording area is unusable. Drive control information including optimum recording / reproduction conditions obtained based on the recording execution result is updated and recorded. The management information recording means stores management information including at least one of the first address pointer indicating the position where the trial recording is performed and the second address pointer indicating the position where the drive control information is updated and recorded in the defect management area. Record.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for recording information in a predetermined direction with respect to a continuous area on an information recording medium, and when the desired information is additionally recorded on the information recording medium, the information has already been recorded. An information recording method is provided in which test recording is performed in an unused area continuous to a recorded area, and desired information is recorded in an area after the area where the test recording is performed. At that time, after the test recording, the predetermined information is recorded in the unused area continuous to the area where the test recording is performed, and the desired information is recorded in the unused area continuous to the area where the predetermined information is recorded. You may make it do.

  In a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium on which information is recorded in a predetermined direction with respect to a continuous area, and when the desired information is additionally recorded, the information is continuously recorded in the area. There is provided an information recording medium in which test recording is performed in an unused area and the desired information is recorded in an area after the area where the test recording is performed.

  In a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for recording information in a predetermined direction with respect to a continuous area on an information recording medium. The information recording apparatus includes recording means for recording information on an information recording medium, and control means for controlling the operation of the recording means. When adding desired information to the information recording medium, the control means performs test recording in an unused area continuous with the area where information is already recorded, and in an area after the area where the test recording is performed. The recording means is controlled to record desired information.

  In an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium having a data recording area for recording user data and a non-user data area used for purposes other than recording of user data. Provided. The information recording apparatus includes recording means for recording information on an information recording medium, and control means for controlling the operation of the recording means. The control means records information to be originally recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area, and records management information relating to recording of the information to be recorded in the non-user data area in the predetermined area. In addition, the recording means is controlled.

  In a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium having a data recording area for recording user data and a test area used for test recording. The information recording apparatus includes recording means for recording information on an information recording medium, and control means for controlling the operation of the recording means. The control means detects whether or not the test area is unusable when performing the test recording. If it is detected that the test area is not unusable, the test means performs the test recording in the test area and is unusable. Is detected, the recording unit is controlled so as to perform trial recording in the data recording area and record management information related to the trial recording performed in the data recording area in a predetermined area.

  In a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a control information recording area for recording control information other than user data. Is done. The information recording apparatus includes recording means for recording information on an information recording medium, and control means for controlling the operation of the recording means. When recording the control information, the control means detects whether or not the control information recording area is unusable. If the control means detects that the control information recording area is unusable, When the control information is recorded and the control information recording area is detected to be unusable, the control information is recorded in the data recording area, and management information relating to the recording of the control information in the data recording area is recorded. The recording means is controlled so as to record in a predetermined area.

  In a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, a recording control device for controlling the operation of a recording means for recording information on an information recording medium is provided. The recording control device controls the recording means so as to record information in a predetermined direction with respect to a continuous area on the information recording medium, and when the desired information is additionally recorded on the information recording medium, the information is already recorded. The recording means is controlled so that test recording is performed in an unused area that is continuous with the area being recorded, and the desired information is recorded in an area after the area where the test recording has been performed.

  In the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, recording means for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a non-user data area used for purposes other than user data recording There is provided a recording control apparatus for controlling the operation. The recording control device records information to be originally recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area, and records management information relating to recording of the information to be recorded in the non-user data area in the predetermined area. The recording means is controlled as follows.

  In the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, recording control for controlling the operation of a recording means for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a test area used for test recording An apparatus is provided. The recording control device detects whether or not the test area is unusable when performing test recording. If it is detected that the test area is not unusable, the recording control apparatus performs test recording in the test area and cannot use the test area. When it is detected that there is, trial recording is performed in the data recording area, and the recording means is controlled so as to record management information relating to the trial recording performed in the data recording area in a predetermined area.

  In the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, recording means for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a control information recording area for recording control information other than the user data There is provided a recording control apparatus for controlling the operation. When recording the control information, the recording control device detects whether or not the control information recording area is unusable. If it is detected that the control information recording area is unusable, the control information recording area Control information is recorded, and if it is detected that the control information recording area is unusable, the control information is recorded in the data recording area, and management information relating to the control information recording in the data recording area is recorded. The recording means is controlled so as to record in a predetermined area.

  According to the present invention, when it is detected that the test recording area used for obtaining the optimum recording / reproducing condition for the combination of the recording medium and the recording apparatus is unusable, the test recording is performed in the data recording area, Since the management information including the address pointer indicating the recording position is recorded on the information recording medium, there is no limit to the number of times trial recording can be performed depending on the size of the trial recording area.

  Further, according to the present invention, when it is detected that the drive control information area for holding the drive control information including the optimum recording / reproducing conditions for the combination of the recording medium and the recording apparatus is unusable, the data recording area Drive control information is recorded, and management information including an address pointer indicating the position where the drive control information is recorded is recorded on the information recording medium, so that drive control is performed according to the size of the drive control information area. There is no limit on the number of times information can be updated.

  Therefore, it becomes impossible to record additional information due to the fact that trial recording cannot be performed, the reliability of information recording will not be reduced, and update of drive control information will not be possible. By re-optimizing, it is possible to prevent an extra start-up time, and it is possible to always ensure the reliability of information recording efficiently and at high speed.

Further, according to the present invention, management information is recorded in the defect management area, so that information necessary for performing various processes can be managed centrally using the defect management area. Therefore, the efficiency of the system can be dramatically improved.
Therefore, the information recording medium, the information recording method and the information recording apparatus according to the present invention are extremely effective when applied to, for example, a replaceable and write once (write-once) large capacity optical disk medium and a video disk recorder. It is.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking a recordable optical disk medium as an example of the information recording medium according to the present invention.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical disk medium according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a guide groove (hereinafter referred to as “groove”) is formed in a spiral shape (spiral shape) on the recording surface of the optical disc medium 101. In the information track 105, address information (not shown) indicating the absolute position on the disc is recorded in advance by changing the shape of the groove.

  Although not shown, an organic dye recording film is formed on the recording surface of the optical disc medium 101. The recording apparatus narrows the beam spot of the laser beam and modulates the laser power according to the data to be recorded. By irradiating the recording film, information can be recorded by causing a change in the organic dye material of the recording film due to a local temperature rise. The optical disk medium described in the present embodiment is a write once type (write once), and information can be additionally written. However, it is assumed that recorded information cannot be erased or rewritten in an information track once recorded. .

  The address information includes information for specifying the position of the recording block 106 which is a unit for recording data, and the recording block 106 is specified by reproducing the information track 105 and reading the address information in the recording device and the reproducing device. can do.

  The optical disc medium 101 includes a data recording area 102, an inner peripheral area 103, and an outer peripheral area 104. As shown in FIG. 1, in the recording apparatus, an area used for recording user data is a data recording area 102, and an inner peripheral area 103 arranged on the inner periphery of the data recording area 102 and an outer peripheral area are arranged. The outer peripheral area 104 is used for specific purposes other than user data recording.

  FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the inner peripheral area 103 of the optical disc medium 101 in more detail. The inner circumferential area 103 includes a read-only information area 201, a buffer area 202, a test recording area 203, a buffer area 204, a drive control information area 205, a buffer area 206, a defect management area 207, and a buffer area 208 in order from the innermost circumference side. Contains.

  The read-only information area 201 is an area in which information such as identification information of the optical disk medium 101 is recorded in advance by using uneven pits (embosses) on the recording surface or groove shape changes in the manufacturing process of the disk. The read-only information area 201 is literally a read-only area, and the information recorded here is basically not falsified.

  As already described in “Background Art”, the test recording area 203 is an area used for test recording, which is an operation for optimizing the recording / reproducing conditions in the combination of the optical disc medium 101 and the recording apparatus. The test recording procedure will be described in detail later.

  The drive control information area 205 is an area for leaving the result of optimizing the recording / reproducing conditions obtained by using a method such as test recording as drive control information. The contents of the recording / playback conditions and the method for updating the drive control information will be described in detail later.

  The defect management area 207 is an area used for general defect management, and the address information of the defect-source recording block found in the data recording area 102, the address information of the replacement-destination recording block, etc. is left as defect management information. It is used as a storage area. Further, the defect management area 207 is used for managing the usage state of the test recording area 203 and the drive information recording area 205 in addition to the defect management of the general data recording area 102. one of. This will be described in detail later.

  The buffer areas 202, 204, 206, and 208 are provided as buffer areas between other adjacent areas, respectively, and information is not recorded.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a test recording procedure according to the information recording method of the present invention.

  When the trial recording procedure is started, first, it is checked whether or not the trial recording area 203 is usable (step S301). Since the optical disk medium 101 in the present embodiment is write-once, whether or not the test recording area 203 can be used is determined by checking whether there is an unused (unrecorded) recording block in the test recording area 203. good.

  When it is determined that an unrecorded block exists, that is, when the test recording area 203 is usable, test recording is performed using the unrecorded block in the test recording area 203 (step S302). On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no unrecorded block, that is, when the test recording area 203 is not usable, trial recording is performed using a predetermined unrecorded block in the data recording area 102 (step S303).

  When the trial recording is executed in the trial recording area 203 or the data recording area 102, the address information indicating the position of the recording block where the trial recording has been performed is held as an address pointer (step S304), and the information including the held address pointer is stored. Is updated as defect management information (step S305), and test recording is terminated.

  Note that as a method for searching for an unrecorded block in step S301, there is a method in which a recording apparatus scans all information tracks in the test recording area 203 and searches for an unrecorded block based on a reproduction signal from the medium. . However, in this method, when the number of tracks in the test recording area 203 increases, it takes too much time to search for an unrecorded block, which is not efficient. In consideration of this point, the used recording block is registered using the defect management area 207 in the same manner as the defective block in the data recording area 102 in step S305. The registration method for defect management information will be described in detail later.

  By performing test recording according to the procedure described above, even when all the recording blocks in the test recording area 203 are used up and become unusable, the test recording can be performed using the data recording area 102. It becomes possible. Therefore, even if the test recording area 203 becomes unusable, it is possible to optimize the optimum recording / reproducing conditions in the combination of the optical disc medium 101 and the recording apparatus, resulting in a decrease in information recording reliability or new information. It will no longer be impossible to write additional notes.

  In addition, according to the method described above, since it is not necessary to increase the capacity of the trial recording area 203 more than necessary in anticipation of the number of trial recordings in order to increase the number of times information can be additionally written, the optical disk medium 101 as a whole is efficient. You can often add information. As a result, it becomes easy to make the rewritable and write-once optical disc media have the same physical format (area structure), and the manufacturing cost of the optical disc media can be reduced.

  One of the features of the present invention is that trial recording is performed using the data recording area 102. FIG. 4 shows a desirable example of the order of use of trial recording in the data recording area 102. FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows a desirable example of the area structure of the optical disc medium 101, particularly the internal structure of the data recording area 102. The data recording area 102 is divided into a first spare area 402, a user data area 401, and a second spare area 403 in order from the inner circumference side.

  For the alternative process (known linear replacement method) of the user data area 401, the area of the optical disk medium 101 is used from the information track located at the innermost circumference of the first spare area 402 toward the outer circumference. Go. For trial recording, the area of the optical disk medium 101 is used from the information track located at the outermost periphery of the second spare area 403 toward the inner periphery.

  Thus, the user data recording block and the trial recording are arranged in the radial direction of the optical disc medium 101 by setting the user data substitute block and the trial recording area in the reverse order. The area for will not be mixed. Therefore, even if recording is performed with overpower (power higher than the optimum laser power) or special recording (for example, recording of a specific data pattern not conforming to the modulation code) in the trial recording, the user Since the recording / reproducing of data is not adversely affected, the stability of the recording apparatus can be maintained.

  The capacities of the first spare area 402 and the second spare area 403 may be determined in advance during so-called physical format processing, or at least one of the capacities may be flexibly changed. good. Further, when the number of defective blocks increases and the first spare area 402 is used up in the user data replacement process, the second spare area 403 may be used, and conversely, the second spare area 403 may be used. When the spare area 403 is used up for trial recording, the first spare area 402 may be used. Also in this case, there is no problem if both are used in reverse order in the radial direction of the optical disc medium 101.

  As another method, a spare area for user data recording and a spare area for test recording may be allocated in advance as separate areas. According to this method, user data recording and test recording can be clearly separated, so that it is not always necessary to determine the order of use of each recording.

  FIG. 5 shows the internal configuration of the drive control information area 205 of the optical disc medium 101 in more detail. The drive control information area 205 includes a plurality of recording blocks (a total of n recording blocks in FIG. 5). Each recording block can include a plurality of recording / reproducing conditions (in FIG. 5, a maximum of 32 recording / reproducing conditions per recording block).

  By including a plurality of recording / reproducing conditions in a recording block as a unit of recording operation, the recording / reproducing conditions can be left for the combination of the optical disc medium and one or more recording devices. A list composed of a plurality of recording / playback conditions is called a recording / playback condition list. Further, since the drive control information area 205 includes n recording blocks, the drive control information including a plurality of recording / playback conditions can be updated n times.

  When the optical disk medium is a rewritable type, it is possible to overwrite the recorded recording block in the drive control information area. Therefore, unless the recording block becomes unusable due to defects or deterioration, only the same recording block is stored. It is possible to continue to use it.

  However, in the case of a write once type (write-once) medium like the optical disk medium 101 in the present embodiment, it is not possible to erase or rewrite a recorded recording block in the drive control information area 205. Therefore, when it is desired to change the contents of the recording block, it is necessary to newly write information to another recording block in the drive control information area 205. For this reason, the number of times that the drive control information can be updated is determined by the drive control information area 205. It is limited to the number of recording blocks included in.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the drive control information is updated using the data recording area in order to solve the problem that the drive control information area 205 is all used up and recording of new recording / playback conditions cannot be performed. To do.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for updating the drive control information, in particular, according to the information recording method of the present invention.

  When the drive control information update process is started, first, it is checked whether or not the drive control information area 205 is usable (step S601). Since the optical disc medium 101 in this embodiment is a write-once type, whether or not the drive control information area 205 can be used is determined by whether there are unused recording blocks (unrecorded blocks) in the drive control information area 205. It is good to check if it is.

  If an unrecorded block exists, that is, if it is determined that the drive control information area is usable, the drive control information is updated and recorded in the unrecorded block in the drive control information area 205 (step S602). If there is no unrecorded block, that is, if it is determined that the drive control information area is not usable, the drive control information is updated and recorded in a predetermined unrecorded block in the data recording area 102 (step S603).

  When the drive control information update recording is executed in the drive control information area 205 or the data recording area 102, the address information indicating the position of the recording block where the drive control information is updated is held as an address pointer (step S604). Information including the held address pointer is updated as defect management information (step S605), and the update of the drive control information is terminated.

  Note that as a method for searching for an unrecorded block in step 601, all the information tracks in the drive control information area 205 are scanned and a reproduction signal from the medium is obtained in the same manner as described above in the procedure of the test recording process. There is a method of searching for unrecorded blocks. However, when the number of tracks in the drive control information area 205 increases, it takes too much time to search for an unrecorded block, which is not efficient. In consideration of this point, in step 605, the used recording block is registered using the defect management area 207 in the same manner as the defective block in the data recording area 102. The registration method for defect management information will be described in detail later.

  By updating the drive control information according to the procedure described above, even if all the recording blocks in the drive control information area 205 are used up and become unusable, the drive control is performed using the data recording area 102. Information can be updated. Therefore, even if the drive control information area 205 becomes unusable, the optimum recording / playback condition cannot be maintained in the combination of the optical disc medium 101 and the recording device, so that trial recording is performed from the beginning every time the recording device is activated. This eliminates the waste of redoing the process and speeds up the startup time of the recording apparatus.

  Further, according to the method described above, since it is not necessary to increase the capacity of the drive control information area 205 in order to increase the number of times that the drive control information can be updated, it is possible to efficiently add information to the optical disc medium 101 as a whole. Can do. As a result, the rewritable type and the write-once optical disc medium can be easily set to the same physical format (area structure), and the cost of manufacturing the optical disc medium can be reduced.

  Note that step S305 in the procedure of the trial recording process shown in FIG. 3 and step S605 in the update procedure of the drive control information shown in FIG. 6 are both steps for updating the defect management information, and duplicate processing It becomes. In the normal system, in the process of optimizing the recording / reproducing conditions, the trial recording and the recording of the drive control information are mostly performed in a series of combinations, so that the two steps can be integrated. It is desirable to update the defect management information at the end of a series of processes for optimizing the recording / reproducing conditions, which leads to a reduction in processing time and an area.

  Alternatively, it is not always necessary to update the defect management information in the process of optimizing the recording / reproducing conditions. The result of optimizing the recording conditions may be temporarily stored in the nonvolatile memory and recorded on the information recording medium before the apparatus is turned off. Therefore, the management information may be recorded together in a conventional defect management information update process generally called a flash. This leads to further shortening of necessary processing time and area. A preferred example regarding the contents of the defect management information will be described later.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a desirable example of the order of use of areas used as areas for trial recording in a dual-layer recording disk.

  The double-layer recording disk 101a is a write-once (write-once) optical disk medium, and has a structure in which two recording layers on which information can be recorded exist independently. As a result, the recording capacity per one double-layer recording disk can be doubled compared to a single-layer disk (only one recording surface) having the same track pitch and bit line density.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the optical head 702 records information by irradiating the recording surface of the two-layer recording disk 101a with a laser spot. For the sake of convenience, the two-layer recording surface of the two-layer recording disk 101a is a layer farther from the optical head 702 (a layer farther from the laser irradiation side surface (information reading surface) of the two-layer recording disk). A layer closer to 702 (closer to the laser irradiation side surface) is referred to as “layer B”. Although not shown in the drawing, spiral grooves (information tracks) are formed on the recording surfaces of the layers A and B as in the case of the optical disc medium 101 and include a plurality of areas described below.

  Layer A includes a test recording area 703a, a defect management area 704a, a spare area 705a, a user data area 706a, and a spare area 707a in order from the inner circumference side. Layer B includes a test recording area 703b, a defect management area 704b, a spare area 705b, a user data area 706b, and a spare area 707b in this order from the inner periphery side.

  Hereinafter, the order of use of trial recording on the dual-layer recording disk 101a will be described. When test recording is performed for the first time from the entire unrecorded state, use starts from the test recording area 703a of layer A. In this embodiment, the test recording area 703a is recorded from the inner circumference side toward the outer circumference side (in the arrow direction shown in (1) of FIG. 7). When the test recording area 703a is used up, the layer B test recording area 703b is used (order (2)).

  The reason why the layer A is used before the layer B is to prevent the recording and reproduction of the layer A from being affected by the trial recording in the layer B. In other words, if trial recording is performed on layer B, which is the layer closer to optical head 702, when layer A is reproduced at the same radial position, it passes through layer B in accordance with the state of trial recording of layer B. There is a possibility that the transmittance of the laser light changes slightly, and the amount of laser emission reaching the layer A and the amount of reflected light from the layer A may also change. Especially in the case of trial recording, unlike normal user data recording, there is a possibility of recording with overpower or recording a data pattern that does not comply with the data modulation rule. There is a risk of affecting.

  Next, the processing in the case where all the test recording areas 703a and 703b are used up, the outer peripheral side spare areas 707a and 707b are used in the same manner as described with the single-layer optical disk medium 101 as an example. In this embodiment, the layer A spare area 707a is used from the outer periphery side (the arrow shown in FIG. 7 (3)), and when the spare area 707a is used up, the layer B spare area 707b is also used on the outer periphery side (see FIG. 7 (arrow shown in (4)). The reason for using layer A before layer B is as described above.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 7, when performing trial recording using a two-layer type optical disk, if recording is performed from a layer farther from the optical head, the recording / reproducing conditions are affected. Most stable without giving. Even in the case of a two-layer type optical disc, even when all the test recording areas 703a and 703b are used up and become unusable, it is possible to perform test recording using the spare areas 707a and 707b.

  In addition, according to the method described above, since it is not necessary to increase the capacity of the test recording areas 703a and 703b more than necessary in anticipation of the number of trial recordings in order to increase the possible number of additional information recording, the optical disk medium 101a. As a whole, information can be added efficiently. As a result, the rewritable type and the write-once optical disc medium can be easily set to the same physical format (area structure), and the cost of manufacturing the optical disc medium can be reduced.

  In the above example, as shown in FIG. 7, the order of use of test recording is as follows: region 703a → region 703b → region 707a → region 707b, but is not limited to this.

  The order of areas in which trial recording is performed on a dual-layer disc may be determined depending on the recording order of user data. As an example, in the case where user data is recorded on the layer A side, that is, the user data area 706a, the user data area 706a is used up, and then the layer B (user data area 706b) is used. In accordance with the use order of user data recording, it may be performed in the order of area 703a → area 707a → area 703b → area 707b.

  As another example, only one recording layer may be used. For example, only the layer A may be used in the order of the region 703a → the region 707a, or only the layer B may be used in the order of the region 703b → the region 707b. In this case, although the size of the usable area is halved as a result, the recording conditions can be optimized without being affected at all by the recording state of the other layers.

  As another example, the radial position where test recording is performed may be separated for each recording layer. For example, the trial recording area 703b is used for the layer B trial recording, and the spare area 707a is used for the layer A trial recording. Alternatively, the test recording of layer A is from the inner periphery side of the test recording area 703a, and the test recording of layer B is from the outer periphery side of the test recording area 703b. Even with these methods, there is a limit to the size of the area that can be used for trial recording, but even if it is necessary to optimize the recording / reproducing conditions for each recording layer even on the same medium, the recording state of other layers can be changed. The recording conditions can be optimized without being affected.

  Needless to say, the method described above can also be applied to a multilayer optical disc having three or more recording layers.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of the defect management list in the embodiment of the present invention.
The defect management list is a part of information recorded in the defect management area of the optical disk medium (defect management area 207 for the optical disk medium 101, and defect management areas 704a and 704b for the dual-layer recording disk 101a). Generally, in the defect management list, the address information of the defect source recording block indicating the absolute position of the recording block regarded as a defect and the absolute information of the previous recording block in which the information to be recorded in the defect source recording block is recorded as a substitute. The address information of the alternative destination recording block indicating the position is associated and registered as an element of the list.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the address information of the recording block on which trial recording has been performed and the recording block on which drive control information has been recorded is also included in the defect management list. In addition, in order to be able to determine in which operating state the element registered in the list is registered, a type information identifier is provided.

FIG. 8 shows an example of registration in six types. Hereinafter, each registration example will be described in order.
The first registration example is registered with a type information identifier “0000” indicating “normal (alternate)”. This indicates defect registration associated with normal user data recording, and is registered as a result of performing substitution processing by a known linear replacement method. In the defect source recording block address information, PBAm1 (actually a number indicating the address information) indicating the absolute address of the recording block in the data recording area regarded as a defect is recorded, and the replacement destination recording block address information In the field, PBAn1 indicating the absolute address of the recording block in the spare area of the alternative destination is recorded.

  The second registration example is registered with a type information identifier “0001” indicating “normal (unsubstitute)”. This indicates registration of a recording block which is regarded as a defect but whose replacement destination is not determined in accordance with normal user data recording. In the defect source recording block address information, PBAm2 indicating the absolute address of the recording block in the data recording area regarded as a defect is recorded, and no data is recorded in the replacement destination recording block address information (in practice, for example, all “ Addresses that do not actually exist such as 0 "are recorded).

  The third registration example is registered with the type information identifier “0010” indicating “OPC (Optimum Power Control)” and is registered along with the execution of the trial recording in the trial recording area described above. In the defect source recording block address information, PBAm3 indicating the absolute address of the recording block in the trial recording area where the trial recording has been performed is recorded, and no data is recorded in the replacement destination recording block address information.

  The fourth registration example is registered with the type information identifier “0011” indicating “OPC2”, and is registered with the execution of the trial recording using the spare area described above. In the defect source recording block address information, PBAm4 indicating the absolute address of the recording block in the spare recording area where the trial recording has been performed is registered, and no data is recorded in the replacement destination recording block address information.

  The fifth registration example is registered with the type information identifier “0100” indicating “DriveInformation” and is registered with the recording of the drive control information using the spare area described above. There is no data of the defect source recording block address information, and the replacement destination recording block address information is recorded with PBAn5 indicating the absolute address of the recording block in the spare area where the drive control information is actually recorded.

  The sixth registration example is a result of registering with the type information identifier “0101” indicating “DataInformation”, and replacing the specific information included in the specific address in the inner peripheral area or the outer peripheral area using the spare area. It is registered. In the defect source recording block address information, PBAm6 indicating the specific address where the specific information was originally recorded is recorded, and in the replacement destination recording block address information, PBAn6 indicating the absolute address of the destination where the specific information has been subjected to substitution processing is recorded. To be recorded. Here, an alternative process of specific information (non-user data) included in a specific address (that is, an area other than the data recording area) in the inner peripheral area or the outer peripheral area will be described in detail.

  In the conventional defect management method of the optical disk medium and the method of using the defect management area, nothing has been done other than managing the defect in the area where normal user data is recorded. An alternative process for non-user data recorded outside the data area that could not be performed is realized.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure example in the case where specific information included in a specific address in the inner peripheral area or the outer peripheral area is subjected to substitution processing.

  When the update process of the information included in the specific addresses on the inner and outer circumferences is started, it is first checked whether or not the area including the specific addresses on the inner and outer circumferences can be used (step S1201). For example, when the disc medium is a write-once type, whether or not an area including a specific address on the inner and outer circumferences can be used is determined by whether an unused recording block (unrecorded block) exists in the area including the specific address on the inner and outer circumferences. It can be determined by checking whether it exists. Further, the recording result may be verified regardless of whether it is a write-once type or a rewritable type, and the recording / reproduction quality may be inspected (determining whether or not the area is defective).

  If it is determined that the area including the specific address is usable, information is updated and recorded in the area including the specific address (step S1202). If it is determined that the area including the specific address is unusable, information is updated and recorded in the data recording area (step S1203).

  When information update recording is executed in an area including a specific address on the inner and outer circumferences or a data recording area, address information indicating the position of the recording block where the information has been updated is held as an address pointer (step S1204). The information including the specific address (that is, the defect source address) and the address pointer to which the information is updated is updated as defect management information (step S1205), and the information update is terminated.

  In this way, even if the area where non-user data should be recorded becomes unusable due to defects, exhaustion of the area, etc., substitution processing using the data recording area is possible, and the substitution destination is registered. By doing so, it becomes possible to manage alternative destinations of non-user data in the same way as normal user data defect management.

  In addition, as an example of non-user data, in an information recording apparatus, information recording history (log), information for copyright protection of recorded content, information for user data management (file management), etc. Is mentioned.

  As described above, by using the defect management list which is a part of the defect management information recorded in the defect management area, execution of test recording and drive information updating described in the embodiment according to the present invention is performed. The result can be managed as a history. At this time, by registering the defect source recording block address information and the alternative destination recording block address information according to the type of processing, various processes other than user data recording can be performed on the extension line of the conventional defect management processing. The processing result can be managed by a relatively easy method.

  In the registration example of FIG. 8, a method of providing the type information identifier in the defect management list is disclosed as the most preferable example, but the type information identifier is not essential in order to exert the effect of the present invention. Depending on the content of the process, the recording block where the test recording was performed is the defect source, the recording block where the drive control information was updated is the replacement destination, etc. If the address information is registered, a certain effect of leaving a history of processing results can be exhibited.

  By providing more type information identifiers, there is an advantage that the number of scenes that the recording device or the playback device does not have to interpret all the information included in the defect management list increases, and the processing efficiency can be improved. As an example, consider a scene where it is determined whether or not the test recording area is usable (whether there is an unrecorded block).

  If there is a type information identifier, it may be searched from the recorded defect management list whether there is an element to which the type information identifier “0011” of “OPC2” is present. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a time-consuming process such as searching all defect source recording block address information included in the defect management list and scanning all information tracks in the test recording area to search for unrecorded blocks. As another example, if it is determined whether or not an unrecorded block exists in the drive control information area, if there is a type information identifier, it is more efficient to simply search for the identifier “0100” of “DriveInformation”. It is possible to discriminate automatically.

  Here, another preferred example in which it is possible to easily determine whether or not an unrecorded block exists in the test recording area or the drive control information area without providing the type information identifier. Although not shown in the figure, “test recording area full flag” indicating whether or not all test recording areas have been recorded in the defect management information recorded in the defect management area, whether or not all drive control information areas have been recorded “Drive control information area full flag” may be provided.

  As another preferred example, although not shown, the address information of the area where the trial recording was last executed or the address of the last area where the drive control information was updated is included in the defect management information recorded in the defect management area. If the information is included, the address information of the last recorded area can be easily recognized from the address information, and the processing efficiency of the recording apparatus or the reproducing apparatus can be improved. it can.

  Furthermore, as shown in an example in FIG. 4, when the order of use of test recordings is determined in advance, the address information of a plurality of test recordings performed in the past is not included in the list, and the test used last is used. Only the address information of the record may be registered in the list. By doing so, the number of entries in the defect management list can be reduced, so that the efficiency of the defect management process can be improved and the area necessary for defect management can be reduced. The same applies to recording in drive control information and other specific information.

  The management information as described above may be recorded in an area different from the defect management area. However, in a system capable of performing defect management (combination of information recording medium and recording apparatus), the management information group is included in the defect management area as in the method described above, so that the recording apparatus or the reproduction can be performed. In the apparatus, it is possible to obtain information necessary for performing various processes by simply accessing the defect management area, and it is possible to relatively improve the efficiency of the process.

  In the present embodiment, both the optical disk medium 101 and the dual-layer recording disk 101a have been described as the write once type (write once). However, the present invention is also applicable to a rewritable recording medium in which information can be overwritten multiple times on the same track. it can.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the information recording apparatus 901 according to the present invention. The information recording apparatus 901 includes components 901 to 908 described below.

  The optical head 902 irradiates the recording layer of the optical disc medium 101 with a laser spot, and detects reflected light from the recording layer of the optical disc medium 101. The modulation recording unit 903 electrically drives a semiconductor laser (not shown) built in the optical head 902 and modulates the laser light according to the recording data. A reproduction demodulator 904 amplifies a reproduction signal obtained by electrically detecting reflected light from a recording layer detected by a photodetector (not shown) built in the optical head 902, and a signal component recorded on the optical disc medium 101. Is separated and demodulated to reproduce necessary information. The buffer 905 temporarily holds information to be recorded on the optical disc medium 101 and information reproduced from the optical disc medium 101. A disk motor 907 rotates the optical disk medium 101. The servo control unit 906 moves the optical head 902 to a predetermined information track while controlling the rotational drive of the disk motor 907, and performs a laser spot tracking process. A system control unit 908 controls the entire information recording apparatus 901.

  Each processing procedure (trial recording, update of drive control information, defect management information and update) described above and later will be performed by the system control unit 908 using various information stored in the buffer 905 and updated as necessary. It is realized by generating / adding information and recording / reproducing predetermined information through the optical head 902 while the modulation / recording unit 903, the reproduction / demodulation unit 904, and the servo control unit 906 operate in cooperation. The system control unit 908 is configured by a microprocessor, for example, and executes a predetermined processing procedure by executing a predetermined program.

Embodiment 2
In the present embodiment, another example of a test recording area determination method capable of absorbing the difference in characteristics between the inner and outer circumferences of the optical disc will be described. In the present embodiment, an area on which trial recording is performed is determined according to the radial position of the area on which user data is recorded.

  First, a method for determining a test recording area capable of absorbing the difference between the inner and outer peripheral characteristics for an optical disc having a single information recording layer will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method for determining an area in which trial recording is performed on the optical disc medium 101 in the present embodiment. In FIG. 11, the area structure of the optical disc medium 101 is schematically shown from the innermost circumference (left side) to the outermost circumference (right side). The test recording area 203, the defect management area 207, the user data area 401, the first spare area 402, and the second spare area 403 to which the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4 are assigned are as described above. The description is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, whether to perform test recording on the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side is determined according to the radial position where user data is recorded in the user data area 401.

  The radius position at which user data is recorded in the user data area 401 may be determined based on a physical address uniquely assigned to the optical disc medium 101. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the physical address of the innermost track in the user data area 401 is ADR_I, the physical address of the outermost track is ADR_K (ADR_I <ADR_K), and the innermost track is directed from the outermost track to the outermost track. Assume that physical addresses are assigned in ascending order.

  When the information recording apparatus receives a data recording command from the outside, the information recording apparatus is instructed to record the data at a predetermined logical address. The information recording apparatus determines an address (target physical address) ADR_X where data on the optical disc medium 101 is to be recorded from the predetermined logical address. When it is determined that trial recording is necessary in the information recording apparatus, trial recording is performed on the inner circumference side when the target physical address ADR_X has a relationship of ADR_X <ADR_J. When the target physical address ADR_X has a relationship of ADR_X ≧ ADR_J, trial recording is performed on the outer peripheral side. ADR_J is a predetermined physical address and satisfies ADR_I <ADR_J <ADR_K.

  That is, the predetermined physical address ADR_J is a boundary that divides the user data area 401 into an inner peripheral side and an outer peripheral side for convenience, and the target physical address ADR_X from which user data is to be recorded is compared with the predetermined physical address ADR_J. Thus, this is used as a reference for determining whether the test recording should be performed on the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side.

  The predetermined physical address ADR_J may be uniquely determined in advance, or may be adaptively set in the information recording apparatus.

  Further, although the target physical address ADR_X is determined based on the logical address specified by the external recording command, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined based on the physical address at which the information recording apparatus last recorded (latest). In the case of a write-once disc medium in which data is additionally written in order from the inner periphery to the outer periphery, the final physical address of the area in which data is already recorded may be determined as a reference.

  In this embodiment, the inner peripheral side indicates the test recording area 203 or the first spare area 402, and the outer peripheral side indicates the second spare area 403. As described above, the trial recording area 203 and the first spare area 402 on the inner circumference side are used in the order of the trial recording area 203 → first spare area 402 from the innermost circumference. The first spare area 402 may be used after the recording area 203 becomes unusable, or the first spare area 402 is used even when the test recording area 203 is not unusable. But it doesn't matter. In addition, the first spare area 402 may not exist on the inner circumference side, and a second test recording area may exist separately on the outer circumference side.

  As described above, in the user data area 401, it is possible to determine the area for test recording according to the radius position when user data is recorded, and this can be determined by the specific configuration and procedure described above. Can be realized.

  As a result, it is possible to perform trial recording by selecting an area as close as possible to the radial position where user data is to be recorded next, so that the access speed can be improved and the throughput of the information recording apparatus due to the execution of trial recording can be prevented. There is an effect that can. This also makes it possible to effectively optimize the recording / reproducing conditions based on the trial recording even for the disc medium in which the recording / reproducing characteristics are different between the inner circumference and the outer circumference, and the reliability of the apparatus. Can also be increased.

  Next, a description will be given of a method for determining a test recording area that can absorb a difference in inner and outer peripheral characteristics with respect to a two-layer recording disk.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a method for determining a trial recording area when trial recording is performed on a dual-layer recording disk. In FIG. 11, the area structure in each recording layer (layer A, layer B) of the dual-layer recording disk 101a is schematically shown from the innermost circumference (left side) to the outermost circumference (right side). Further, the test recording areas 703a and 703b, the defect management areas 704a and 704b, the user data areas 706a and 706b, the inner spare areas 705a and 705b, and the outer spare areas 707a and 707b, which are assigned the same reference numerals as in FIG. Is as described above, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the physical addresses of the innermost tracks in the user data areas 706a and 706b are ADR_Ia and ADR_Ib, the physical addresses of the outermost tracks are ADR_Ka and ADR_Kb (where ADR_Ia <ADR_Ka and ADR_Kb <ADR_Ib), and an optical beam, respectively. In layer A, which is the recording layer farther from the optical head 902 to be irradiated, in ascending order from the innermost circumference to the outermost circumference, and in layer B, which is the recording layer closer to the optical head 902, from the outermost circumference to the innermost circumference. Assume that physical addresses are assigned in ascending order. Therefore, the radius position where user data is recorded in the user data areas 706a and 706b may be determined based on the physical address uniquely assigned to the optical disc 101a.

  Here, whether the target physical address ADR_X at which user data is to be recorded is in the layer A or the layer B depends on whether the target physical address ADR_X is the innermost peripheral address ADR_Ia, ADR_Ib, the outermost peripheral address ADR_Ka in each layer. Therefore, it becomes clear by comparing with ADR_Kb. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether the test recording should be performed in the layer A or the layer B.

  Further, predetermined physical addresses ADR_Ja and ADR_Jb (ADR_Ia <ADR_Ja <ADR_Ka, ADR_Kb <ADR_Jb <ADR_Ib) in each layer are defined, and a target physical address ADR_X from which user data is to be recorded is defined as the predetermined physical address. By comparing the size, it becomes clear whether the target physical address ADR_X is on the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side with respect to the predetermined physical addresses ADR_Ja, ADR_Jb. Thus, according to the target physical address ADR_X, not only the layer A or the layer B should be subjected to trial recording, but also whether the trial recording should be performed on the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side is determined. Can do.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, when the target physical address ADR_X has a relationship of ADR_X <ADR_Ja, it is determined that the data recording area is on the inner periphery side of the layer A, and the test recording area 703a or Trial recording is performed in the inner spare area 705a.

  When the target physical address ADR_X is in the relationship of ADR_Ja ≦ ADR_X ≦ ADR_Ka, it is determined that the data recording area is on the outer peripheral side of the layer A, and trial recording is performed in the outer peripheral spare area 707a.

  When the target physical address ADR_X has a relationship of ADR_Kb ≦ ADR_X <ADR_Jb, it is determined that the data recording area is on the outer periphery side of the layer B, and trial recording is performed in the outer peripheral spare area 707b.

  Similarly, when the target physical address ADR_X is in the relationship of ADR_Jb ≦ ADR_X ≦ ADR_Ib, the test recording is performed in the test recording area 703b or the inner spare area 705b.

  By using the method as described above, trial recording can be performed on the same recording layer as the user data recording layer next, so that the access speed can be improved and the throughput of the information recording apparatus can be prevented from being lowered due to the trial recording. There is an effect that can. Furthermore, the recording / reproducing conditions can be effectively optimized based on the trial recording even for the disk medium in which the recording / reproducing characteristics are different between the recording layers and / or the inner circumference and the outer circumference. The reliability of the apparatus can be increased.

  The predetermined physical addresses ADR_Ja and ADR_Jb may be uniquely determined in advance, or may be set adaptively in the information recording apparatus.

  Further, as a reference for determining the target physical address ADR_X, it may be a logical address specified by an external recording command as described above, or the physical address at which the information recording device last (most recently) recorded is used as a reference. It may be decided. In the case of a write-once disc medium in which data is additionally written in order from the inner periphery to the outer periphery, the final physical address of the area in which data is already recorded may be determined as a reference.

  In this embodiment, for convenience, the user data area is divided into four areas on the inner circumference side of layer A, the outer circumference side of layer A, the inner circumference side of layer B, and the outer circumference side of layer B. Although it was made to use properly, it is not limited to this. If at least one of the characteristic difference between the inner and outer circumferences and the access time loss associated with the movement of the inner and outer circumferences becomes a problem, the layers A and B may be shared so that only the inner circumference side and the outer circumference side are separated.

  In the above description, trial recording is performed on a spare area that is in the same layer as the data to be recorded and is closer to the radial direction. However, if the spare area used for trial recording is unusable, Alternatively, another spare area may be used instead. For example, when the outer periphery side spare area 707a of layer A becomes unusable, the inner periphery side spare area 705a of the same layer (layer A) may be used instead, or another layer (layer B) ) Outer peripheral side spare area 707b may be used. When the inner peripheral spare area 705a of layer A becomes unusable, the outer peripheral spare area 707a of the same layer (layer A) may be used instead, or another layer (layer B) ) Inner peripheral side spare area 705b may be used. The area to be used instead is preferably determined in consideration of at least one of the characteristic difference between the inner and outer circumferences and the access time loss between the recording layers.

Embodiment 3
In the present embodiment, for a write-once optical disc medium (for example, DVD-R) using a write-connecting (hereinafter referred to as “linking”) method in which data is recorded in order from the inner periphery to the outer periphery. An example of performing test recording will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the write-once optical disc medium using the linking method and its information write-in procedure. As shown in the figure, the write-once optical disc medium 1301 has a guide groove formed in a spiral shape from the inner periphery to the outer periphery, and this is called an information track 1302. A physical address is recorded in advance on the information track 1302 based on a predetermined format due to a change in the shape of the guide groove. The information recording apparatus reads the physical address by reading the change in the shape of the guide groove formed on the information track 1302. Identify and identify where to record information.

  With reference to FIG. 13, a procedure for appending recording data to the recordable optical disc medium 1301 will be described. FIG. 13B shows a state where data is already recorded from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference direction up to a predetermined track position P indicated by the physical address ADR_LN. In addition, the unit of the physical address recorded in advance by the groove shape in the information track 1302 substantially matches the unit of data recording, and the physical address is assigned a unique and increasing number from the inner periphery to the outer periphery. It is expressed by being.

  A procedure for adding data to the above state will be described. When data is added, a linking loss area 1304 is first created as shown in FIG. The linking loss area 1304 corresponds to the information track indicating the physical address ADR_LN + 1 that follows the end of the recorded data. In the linking loss area 1304, a specific data pattern not including user data (for example, recording data in which all data has a value of 00h) is recorded, and then the physical address ADR_LN + 2 as shown in FIG. The additional recording data 1305 is recorded on the information track corresponding to the following. Although FIGS. 13C and 13D are expressed in different diagrams, it should be noted that recording to the linking loss area 1304 and recording of the additional recording data 1305 are performed as a series of continuous operations.

  Here, the role of the linking loss area 1304 will be described. The linking loss area 1304 is an area provided between areas in which additional record data is recorded, and is provided in order to prevent an error from occurring at the head portion of the subsequent additional record data 1305.

  When the linking loss area 1304 does not exist, the end of the recorded data 1303 and the start of the additional recording data 1305 are directly connected. However, in an actual information recording apparatus, the recording clock generation circuit phase shift, disk rotation jitter, etc. For this reason, it is very difficult to write both without any bit shift, and at least a few bit shift is generally generated.

  If the joint between the two is discontinuous, when data is reproduced across the discontinuous point in the information reproducing apparatus, the period of data until the data is once out of sync after returning from the discontinuous point. Cannot be played correctly. The recording data is generally in a format in which a plurality of units called frames to which a synchronization pattern for synchronizing data is added are continued. In such a case, the data is not reproduced correctly for a period of at least one frame from the time when the synchronization of the data is lost to the return, and a plurality of frame periods depending on the shift amount of the discontinuous points.

  Usually, an error correction code is added to the recorded data, and it can be corrected even if the data is in error for a period of several frames, but there are other factors around the data discontinuity point. When an error due to a defect (such as a defect on the disk) is included, there is a risk that the correction limit may be exceeded and the beginning of the additional data cannot be reproduced.

  For this reason, a predetermined period from the discontinuous point of writing connection is set as a section for recording dummy data (linking loss area), and the information reproducing apparatus uses this period to recover synchronization loss due to data discontinuity. This prevents an error from occurring in the subsequent additional data.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of the area structure of the write-once optical disc medium 101b described with reference to FIG. 13 and the additional recording management method of the present embodiment.

  The write once optical disc medium 101b includes an inner peripheral area 1401, a lead-in area 1402, a data recording area 1403, and a lead-out area 1404 from the inner periphery toward the outer periphery. The inner peripheral area 1401 further includes a test recording area 1405 and a recording management information area 1406.

  The lead-in area 1402 or the lead-out area 1404 includes a reproduction-only area in which information including disk attributes and recording / reproduction conditions called control data is recorded in advance when the disk is shipped.

  The data recording area 1403 is an area where data including user data is actually recorded. As a write-once feature, the data recording area 1403 is used in order from the inner circumference side to the spiral direction of the track.

  The test recording area 1405 is an area prepared in advance as an area for performing test recording for optimizing recording / reproduction conditions in the information recording apparatus.

  The recording management information area 1406 is an area for recording management information as a history of additional writing when new information is added to the data recording area in the information recording apparatus.

Here, a process of adding information and a process of recording management information will be described.
First, when the first recording is performed from the state where no data is recorded in the data recording area 1403, when the recording condition needs to be optimized, the trial recording is performed using the test recording area 1405. After the optimization of the recording conditions, data recording is executed from the start address ADR_S1 to the end address ADR_L1 in the data recording area 1403. Needless to say, the length up to the end address ADR_L1 is determined depending on the amount of data to be recorded.

  According to the data recording, recording management information RM_1 is recorded in the recording management information area 1406 at a predetermined timing. The content of the recording management information RM_1 includes at least a data recording start address ADR_S1 and an end address ADR_L1. In the record management information area 1406, information related to the position of the linking loss area is recorded.

  The information recording apparatus or information reproducing apparatus can efficiently grasp the data recording history by reading the contents of the recording management information area 1406 before recording or reproducing the data in the data recording area 1403. Search performance can be improved.

  Note that a record of trial recording in the trial recording area 1405 may be left in the recording management information RM_1. In this way, the information recording apparatus can efficiently grasp the usage status (unrecorded location) of the test recording area 1405, and shorten the time required for optimizing the recording / reproducing conditions using the trial recording area 1405. There is an effect that leads to.

  When additional recording is performed in a state where data has already been recorded, if recording conditions need to be optimized, trial recording is performed using the test recording area 1405. After optimizing the recording conditions, the second data recording is executed from the start address ADR_S2 to the end address ADR_L2 in the data recording area 1403. Here, it should be noted that the linking loss area is created prior to the second data recording. That is, the linking loss area extends from the position corresponding to the next address of the first recording end address ADR_L1 to the position immediately before the recording start address ADR_S2 of the second data, and there is dummy data (all data “00h”). Etc.) are recorded.

  In accordance with the second data recording, the recording management information RM_2 is recorded at a predetermined timing. The content of the recording management information RM_2 includes at least a start address ADR_S2 and an end address ADR_L2, which are the latest data recording history. The record management information RM_2 may include all past data record histories.

  As a result of performing the data recording N times as described above, the data recording area 1403 has been recorded from the first data recording start address ADR_S1 to the Nth data recording end address ADR_LN, and the latest information is recorded in the recording management information area 1406. Record management information RM_N is recorded.

  Here, it is assumed that the test recording area 1405 is completely used as the data recording is performed N times.

  In such a state, when additional data is additionally written, it is impossible to carry out the conventional method even if the recording conditions need to be optimized. For this reason, even though there is still space for the recording capacity of one disc, no more data can be added, or data can be added without optimizing the recording conditions, and the data can be trusted. There was an inconvenience that this led to a decrease in performance.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to solve the above inconvenience, the recording condition is optimized using the linking loss area. With reference to FIG. 15, a description will be given of an example of a data addition procedure when the recording condition is optimized using the linking loss area in the present embodiment.

  FIG. 15A shows the end of recorded data in the data recording area 1403 after the N-th data recording is performed. Recording is performed up to the data recording end address ADR_LN, and recording is not performed after the next address ADR_LN + 1. It is in a state.

  When it is necessary to optimize the recording conditions before performing the (N + 1) th data recording, and there is no usable area in the test recording area 1405, as shown in FIG. Test recording is performed in the area of the address ADR_LN + 1 subsequent to the final address ADR_LN after the completion of data recording. The area where the trial recording is performed is defined as a linking loss area 1501a.

  After the recording conditions are optimized by the linking loss area 1501a, as shown in FIG. 15C, a linking loss area 1501b is created at the subsequent address ADR_LN + 2 of the linking loss area 1501a, and the subsequent address ADR_LN + Record additional data from 3. A predetermined pattern (all 00h data or the like) is recorded in the linking loss area 1501b. Recording of the linking loss area 1501b and subsequent additional data is continuously performed by a series of operations.

  Heretofore, the test recording and additional data recording procedures in the present embodiment have been described in detail. By performing trial recording in the linking loss area 1501a following the end of the recorded data, the recording conditions can be optimized even if the trial recording area 1405 is in an unusable state, and a new trial is performed. There is no need to provide a separate recording area. Further, even when the test recording area 1405 becomes unusable, it is possible to prevent further data from being additionally recorded or to reduce the recording reliability of the additionally recorded data under non-optimal recording conditions.

  In addition, after the linking loss area 1501a on which the trial recording has been performed, the linking loss area 1501b is created, and the recording of the additional data is started by a series of operations, whereby the head of the additional data is reproduced by the information reproducing device. In this case, since it is possible to correct the reproduction synchronization shift using the linking loss area 1501b, it is possible to prevent an error from occurring at the head portion of the additional write data.

  In other words, by providing the linking loss area 1501a and the linking loss area 1501b with two roles of trial recording and prevention of additional data start error, data recording / reproduction reliability is ensured without requiring a new area. It becomes possible to do.

  As a result of performing the (N + 1) th data recording in this way, in the data recording area 1403, following the linking loss areas 1501a and 1501b, as shown in FIG. 14, from the data recording start address ADR_SN + 1 to the data recording end address ADR_LN Recording is completed up to +1, and recording management information RM_N + 1 is newly recorded in the recording management information area 1406.

  The content of the recording management information RM_N + 1 includes at least a start address ADR_SN + 1 and an end address ADR_LN + 1 which are the latest data recording history. The record management information RM_N + 1 may include all past data record histories.

  Even when trial recording is performed in the linking loss area, special information may not be added to the contents of the recording management information area 1406, but a history of addresses where trial recording has been performed may be left. . In this way, the information recording apparatus can efficiently grasp the usage status of the test recording area 1405 (whether or not there is still a free area) just by reading the information in the recording management area 1406, and the recording / reproducing condition This has the effect of reducing the time required for optimization.

  Although the present invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments, many other variations, modifications, and other uses will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the specific disclosure herein, but can be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

  The present invention can update specific information recorded in an area other than the user data area (non-user data area) to the latest state regardless of the empty state of the non-user data area, thereby ensuring the reliability of information recording. Therefore, it is useful for, for example, a high-capacity optical disk medium and a video disk recorder of a replaceable type or a write once type (write once) type.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the optical disk medium 101 in Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the area structure of the optical disc medium 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, particularly an internal configuration example of an inner peripheral area 103 It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of the test recording in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of an internal structure and use order of the data recording area 102 in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the internal structural example of the drive control information area | region 205 in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of an update procedure of the drive control information in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the double layer recording disk 101a in Embodiment 1 of this invention, and a usage order. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the defect management list | wrist in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the update process of the specific information contained in the non-user data area in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the information recording device in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination method of the area | region which performs test recording on the optical disk medium 101 in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the determination method of the trial recording area at the time of performing trial recording on a two-layer recording disk. It is a figure explaining the write-once type optical disc medium in which a linking method is used, and its information write-in procedure. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the area structure of the write-once type | mold optical disk medium demonstrated in FIG. 13, and the management method of the additional recording of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the information addition recording procedure with respect to the write-once type | mold optical disk medium in which the linking system is used in Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Optical disk medium 102 Data recording area 103 Inner circumference area 104 Outer circumference area 105 Information track 106 Recording block 201 Read-only information area 203 Test recording area 205 Drive control information area 207 Defect management area 202, 204, 206, 208 Buffer area 401 User data Area 402 First spare area 403 Second spare area 101 Optical disk medium 101a Double-layer recording disk medium 702 Optical head 901 Information recording device 902 Optical head 903 Modulation recording section 904 Playback demodulation section 905 Buffer 906 Servo control section 907 Disk motor 908 System controller

Claims (36)

A method of recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a non-user data area used for purposes other than recording of the user data,
Information to be originally recorded in the non-user data area is recorded in the data recording area,
An information recording method for recording management information related to recording of information to be recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area in a predetermined area. A method of recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a test area used for test recording by a recording apparatus,
Detecting whether the test area is unusable when performing the test recording,
If it is detected that the test area is not usable, test recording is performed in the test area. If it is detected that the test area is not usable, test recording is performed in the data recording area.
An information recording method for recording management information related to trial recording performed in the data recording area in a predetermined area.   The management information includes an address pointer indicating a position where trial recording has been performed, the information recording medium further includes a defect management area used for defect management of a data recording area, and the predetermined area is the defect management area The information recording method according to claim 2, wherein:   4. The information recording medium is a write-once recording medium, and it is determined that the test area is unusable when it is detected that at least a part of the test area has been recorded. The information recording method described. The information recording medium is a disk recording medium for reading information by an optical method, and has a plurality of information recording layers,
4. The information recording method according to claim 3, wherein the trial recording in the data recording area is performed in order from the area of the recording layer physically far from the information reading surface of the information recording medium. The information recording medium is a disk recording medium for reading information by an optical method, and has a plurality of information recording layers,
4. The information recording method according to claim 3, wherein only the recording layer physically farthest from the information reading surface of the information recording medium is used in the trial recording in the data recording area. In the trial recording in the data recording area, when the recording position of the user data to be recorded is inside the predetermined position in the radial direction of the information recording medium, the trial recording is performed in the predetermined area inside the data recording area. When the predetermined area on the inside is unusable, test recording is performed on the predetermined area outside the data recording area,
When the recording position of user data to be recorded is outside a predetermined position in the radial direction of the information recording medium, trial recording is performed in a predetermined area outside the data recording area, and the predetermined area outside the data recording area cannot be used. 4. The information recording method according to claim 3, wherein test recording is performed in a predetermined area inside the data recording area.   The data recording area includes a user data area and a spare area. A defective block in the user data area is replaced with the spare area, and the management information includes a position of the defective block and a position of a replacement destination in the spare area. 4. The information recording method according to claim 3, further comprising: an address pointer that indicates that the test recording is performed in the spare area when it is detected that the test area is unusable.   The information recording medium has tracks formed concentrically or spirally, and the user data area and the spare area are arranged separately in the radial direction of the information recording medium, and 9. The information recording method according to claim 8, wherein in the trial recording, the tracks are used in order from a track physically far from the user data area in the spare area.   3. The information recording method according to claim 2, wherein the management information includes flag information indicating whether or not the test area is unusable.   3. The information recording method according to claim 2, wherein the management information includes a defect list for registering an area used for trial recording in the data recording area as a defective block. A method for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a control information recording area for recording control information other than the user data,
When recording the control information, detect whether the control information recording area is unusable,
When it is detected that the control information recording area is not usable, the control information is recorded in the control information recording area, and when it is detected that the control information recording area is unusable, Recording the control information in the data recording area,
Management information relating to recording of control information in the data recording area is recorded in a predetermined area.   The management information includes an address pointer indicating a position where the control information is recorded, the information recording medium further includes a defect management area used for defect management of a data recording area, and the predetermined area is the defect management. 13. The information recording method according to claim 12, wherein the information recording method is an area.   The information recording medium is a write-once recording medium, and it is determined that the control information recording area is unusable when it is detected that at least a part of the control information recording area has been recorded. The information recording method according to claim 12.   The data recording area includes a user data area and a spare area. A defective block in the user data area is replaced with the spare area, and the management information includes a position of the defective block and a position of a replacement destination in the spare area. 13. The information recording method according to claim 12, further comprising: an address pointer indicating: the control information is recorded in the spare area when it is detected that the control information recording area is unusable.   13. The information recording method according to claim 12, wherein the management information includes flag information indicating whether or not the control information recording area is unusable.   13. The information recording method according to claim 12, wherein the management information includes a defect list for registering an area used for recording control information in a data recording area as a defective block. A data recording area for recording user data, and a non-user data area used for purposes other than the recording of the user data,
The data recording area records an area that can be used for recording information that should originally be recorded in the non-user data area, and management information relating to recording of information to be recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area. An information recording medium comprising an area. A data recording area for recording user data, and a test area used for test recording by the recording apparatus,
The data recording area includes an area that can be used for trial recording when the test area becomes unusable, and a management area that can record management information relating to trial recording performed in the data recording area. An information recording medium characterized by the above.   20. The information recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the management information includes address information indicating an area used for trial recording in the data recording area. A data recording area for recording user data, and a control information recording area for recording drive control information including recording / reproducing conditions depending on the combination of the recording device and the medium,
The data recording area records an area that can be used for recording further drive control information when the control information recording area becomes unusable, and management information related to the drive control information recorded in the data recording area. An information recording medium comprising a possible management area.   22. The information recording medium according to claim 21, wherein the management information includes address information indicating an area used for recording drive control information in the data recording area. Includes a data recording area for recording user data, a defect management area used for defect management of the data recording area, a test area used for test recording, and a recording / playback condition depending on the combination of the device and the medium An information recording apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium having a control information recording area for recording drive control information while optimizing recording / reproducing conditions,
Detecting means for detecting whether the test area and the control information recording area are unusable;
Test recording means for performing test recording in the test area when the test means detects that the test area is not usable, and in the data recording area when detected as unusable. When,
When the detection means detects that the control information recording area is unusable, execution of test recording is performed in the control information recording area, and when it is detected as unusable, test recording is performed. Drive control information updating means for updating and recording drive control information including optimum recording / reproduction conditions obtained based on the results;
Management for recording in the defect management area management information including at least one of a first address pointer indicating the position where the test recording has been performed and a second address pointer indicating the position where the drive control information is updated and recorded. An information recording apparatus comprising information recording means. A method of recording information in a predetermined direction on a continuous area on an information recording medium,
When adding desired information to the information recording medium, test recording is performed in an unused area continuous to an area where information is already recorded, and the desired recording is performed in an area after the area where the test recording is performed. An information recording method characterized by recording information.   After the test recording, predetermined information is recorded in an unused area continuous with the area where the test recording is performed, and the desired information is recorded in an unused area continuous with the area where the predetermined information is recorded. 25. An information recording method according to claim 24. An information recording medium on which information is recorded in a predetermined direction with respect to a continuous area,
When adding desired information, test recording is performed in an unused area continuous to an area where information is already recorded, and the desired information is recorded in an area after the area where the test recording is performed. An information recording medium characterized by the above.   After the test recording, predetermined information is recorded in an unused area continuous to the area where the test recording is performed, and the desired information is recorded in an unused area continuous to the area where the predetermined information is recorded. 27. The information recording medium according to claim 26, wherein: An apparatus for recording information in a predetermined direction with respect to a continuous area on an information recording medium,
A recording means for recording information on the information recording medium, and a control means for controlling the operation of the recording means,
When adding desired information to the information recording medium, the control means performs test recording in an unused area continuous with an area where information is already recorded, and after the area where the test recording is performed. An information recording apparatus, wherein the recording means is controlled to record the desired information in an area.   The control means records, after the test recording, predetermined information in an unused area continuing to the area where the test recording was performed, and the desired area in an unused area continuing to the area where the predetermined information was recorded. 29. The information recording apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the recording means is controlled to record the information. An apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a non-user data area used for purposes other than recording of the user data,
A recording means for recording information on the information recording medium, and a control means for controlling the operation of the recording means,
The control means records information to be originally recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area, and stores management information related to recording of the information to be recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area. An information recording apparatus, wherein the recording means is controlled to record. An apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium having a data recording area for recording user data and a test area used for test recording,
A recording means for recording information on the information recording medium, and a control means for controlling the operation of the recording means,
The control means detects whether or not the test area is unusable when performing the test recording, and performs test recording in the test area when it is detected that the test area is unusable. When it is detected that the data recording area cannot be used, trial recording is performed in the data recording area, and the recording means is controlled to record management information related to the trial recording performed in the data recording area in a predetermined area. An information recording apparatus. An apparatus for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a control information recording area for recording control information other than the user data,
A recording means for recording information on the information recording medium, and a control means for controlling the operation of the recording means,
The control means detects whether or not the control information recording area is unusable when recording the control information, and if it is detected that the control information recording area is unusable, The control information is recorded in the control information recording area, and when the control information recording area is detected to be unusable, the control information is recorded in the data recording area, and the data recording area is recorded. An information recording apparatus for controlling the recording means so as to record management information relating to recording of control information in a predetermined area. A recording control device for controlling the operation of a recording means for recording information on an information recording medium,
When the recording means is controlled to record information in a predetermined direction with respect to a continuous area on the information recording medium, and when desired information is additionally recorded on the information recording medium, the information is already recorded. Recording control, wherein test recording is performed in an unused area that is continuous with a certain area, and the recording unit is controlled to record the desired information in an area after the area where the test recording has been performed. apparatus. Recording control apparatus for controlling the operation of a recording means for recording information on an information recording medium having a data recording area for recording user data and a non-user data area used for purposes other than recording of the user data Because
The information to be originally recorded in the non-user data area is recorded in the data recording area, and the management information related to the recording of the information to be recorded in the non-user data area in the data recording area is recorded in the predetermined area. A recording control apparatus for controlling recording means. A recording control apparatus for controlling the operation of a recording means for recording information on an information recording medium having a data recording area for recording user data and a test area used for test recording,
When the test recording is performed, it is detected whether the test area is unusable. If it is detected that the test area is unusable, the test recording is performed in the test area, and the test area is unusable. The recording means is controlled so as to record test information in the data recording area and record management information related to the trial recording performed in the data recording area in a predetermined area. Recording control device. A recording control apparatus for controlling the operation of a recording means for recording information on an information recording medium comprising a data recording area for recording user data and a control information recording area for recording control information other than the user data. There,
When recording the control information, it is detected whether or not the control information recording area is unusable. If it is detected that the control information recording area is unusable, the control information recording area When the control information is recorded and the control information recording area is detected to be unusable, the control information is recorded in the data recording area, and the control information in the data recording area is recorded. A recording control apparatus for controlling the recording means to record management information relating to recording in a predetermined area.

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