JP2005182770A - Use area annunciation device, use area annunciation method, and recording medium with its program recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recognize an area being used when an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas accessed by different file systems is used. <P>SOLUTION: Areas of the information recording medium 507 having the plurality of information recording areas 506 managed by different file systems are changed over by a display control part 502 and a recording medium control part 503; and information for clearly annunciating the information recording area 506 in use from the information recording medium 507 is displayed on a display part 501. In addition, an area changeover annunciation part 508 for annunciating the changeover of the areas to a user by the form of the display, sound, light or the like is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a use area notifying apparatus, a use area notifying method, and a recording medium recording the program for displaying information on an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas.

  Conventionally, management of data stored in an information recording area of an information recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or a magneto-optical disk is realized by a predetermined file system.

  A FAT file system is an example of a file system conventionally used (“Information Technology-Volume and file structure of disk cartridges for information”, 1994). The FAT file system is a file system generally used in information equipment such as a personal computer, and has a feature that a physical storage position of data constituting a file is centrally managed by a table called a FAT (File Allocation Table) table. . An information recording medium managed by a file system such as a FAT file system can share files between devices that interpret the same file system, so that data can be exchanged between devices.

  However, in addition to the FAT file system, the FAT32 file system, NTFS (NT File System), UDF (Universal Disk Format), and the like exist as file systems. In addition, there are various file systems interpreted by each device, and even when the same information recording medium is shared by a plurality of devices, if the file systems for recording data are different, data cannot be exchanged between the devices.

  In order to solve this problem, a method of maintaining data compatibility between devices by constructing two or more file systems on an information recording medium can be considered. For example, the information recording area in the information recording medium is divided into a plurality of areas managed by different file systems, and the information recording medium includes an area information storage unit that stores a plurality of information such as the start position and size of each area. Thus, it is possible to select an area that can be interpreted by the device from among a plurality of area information included in the area information storage unit by a command input from the outside of the information recording medium, and to access from the outside. .

When storing a digital work on an information recording medium, it is generally performed to encrypt the digital work with an encryption key for copyright protection. The encryption key used in this encryption is often stored in a form that the user cannot easily view. For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an area that requires mutual authentication (hereinafter referred to as an authentication area) is provided in a recording medium when decryption is performed, and the encryption key is stored in this area for protection. A method has been proposed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-233895

However, the above prior art has the following problems.
In an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas accessed by different file systems, it is necessary to access information while switching the file system, but there are a plurality of information recording media held in one information recording medium. There is no means for listing information recording areas, and the entire information recording medium cannot be grasped.

  In addition, when handling recorded information on an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas, when a user needs to use the area while being aware of the area, usually in a device that displays the contents of the information recording medium such as a personal computer. The difference in information recording area cannot be known.

  In addition, information recording media that support copyright protection of digital works are usually authenticated by devices that display the contents of information recording media such as personal computers, even if information is stored in multiple authentication areas. We cannot know the difference between areas.

  In the present invention, in view of the above problems, an access means for an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas accessed by individual file systems and an information recording medium in which authentication areas are divided into a plurality and stored information Provided are a use area notification device and a use area notification method for notifying a user of different values.

  The present invention is a use area notifying device for accessing an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by individual file systems, a recording medium control section for switching the information recording area to access the information recording medium, A display control unit configured to display information of the plurality of information recording areas as an accessible area of the switched information recording area;

  The present invention is a method of notifying a used area in a used area notifying apparatus for accessing an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by individual file systems, wherein the information recording area for accessing the information recording medium A medium control step for switching, and a display control step for displaying information of the plurality of information recording areas as an accessible area for the switched information recording area.

  According to the use area notification device and the use area notification method of the present invention, it is possible to list the contents of a plurality of information recording areas existing in one information recording medium.

(Example 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information display device and an information recording medium in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the information display device 100 operates as a use area notification device, and includes a display unit 101, a display control unit 102, and a recording medium control unit 103. The information recording medium 107 includes a command receiving unit 104, an access region determining unit 105, and an information recording region 106 including information recording regions 1 to N (N is an integer of 2 or more).

Each block of the information display device and the information recording medium configured as described above will be described.
The display control unit 102 designates an area where information is to be displayed, and outputs data relating to this area to the recording medium control unit 103. The recording medium control unit 103 issues a command for switching the area in order to access the area specified by the display control unit 102, and outputs the command to the command receiving unit 104 of the information recording medium 107.

  The command receiving unit 104 receives a command from the recording medium control unit 103, and the access area determination unit 105 determines an access area based on an area switching command. The information recording medium 107 reads the information of the designated area of the information recording area 106 based on the determination result of the access area determination unit 105, and outputs it from the information recording medium 107 to the information display device 100. The area information obtained from the information recording medium 107 is displayed on the display unit 101 by the display method designated by the display control unit 102.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an information recording area of the information recording medium 107 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an example of an information recording area managed by two different file systems. The information recording area 106 shown in FIG. 2 includes an information recording area 201 managed by the FAT16 file system and an information recording area 202 managed by the FAT32 file system. In order to switch access from one area to the other area, a command for switching the access area must be sent from outside the information recording medium 107 to switch the area.

  FIG. 3 is a display example of the information recording area displayed on the display unit 101. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a folder stored in the information recording area 202 (area B) managed by the FAT32 file system. Reference numeral 302 denotes a folder stored in the information recording area 201 (area A) managed by the FAT16 file system. FIG. 3 shows an example in which information managed by the FAT16 file system is collectively displayed in one folder (area A in the figure) among the information managed by the FAT32 file system.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the used area notification device and the recording medium according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the operation of the used area notification device and the recording medium in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  For example, a case where an application program for displaying a list of recorded information is executed will be described. In this case, first, a list of information stored in the information recording area managed by the FAT32 file system is acquired. First, the display control unit 102 designates an area to be displayed, and issues a switching command for requesting the information recording medium 107 to switch the access area from the recording medium control unit 103 (S401). The display control unit 102 designates the FAT32 file system by predetermined control in the application, and a command for switching to the information recording area 202 is transmitted from the recording medium control unit 103 to the command receiving unit 104 of the recording medium 107.

  In the information recording medium 107, when the command receiving unit 104 receives a command for switching to the information recording area 202, the access area is switched (S402). Next, the access area determination unit 105 determines the area, acquires information recorded in the recording area 202 managed by the FAT32 file system in the information recording area 106, and outputs the information from the information recording medium 107 to the information display device 100. (S403). The area information acquired from the information recording medium 107 is displayed on the display unit 101 by the display method determined by the display control unit 102 (S404). In the display unit 101, for example, as shown in 301 of FIG. 3, a list of recording information is displayed in a tree structure.

  Next, similarly, a list of information stored in the information recording area managed by the FAT16 file system is acquired by the application. At this time, the FAT16 file system is designated by the display control unit 102, and steps S401 to S404 are executed again. In S404, for example, as shown in 302 of FIG. 3, the information managed by the FAT16 file system is collectively displayed in one folder among the information managed by the FAT32 file system. In this way, information managed by different file systems can be displayed simultaneously.

  In this embodiment, an information recording medium having two information recording areas managed by two FAT32 and FAT16 is used as the file system. However, the file system is not limited to these two, and NTFS or UDF is used. Other file systems may be used. Further, the number of information recording areas is not limited to two. If there are a plurality of information recording areas, the same can be realized by repeating S401 to S404 while switching the file system.

  A plurality of information recording areas may be areas managed by the same file system. This may be the case when a single file system, for example, the capacity that can be handled by the FAT16 file system is limited to, for example, 2 GB, and the same information recording medium has a plurality of areas having the maximum capacity of the FAT16 file system. It is done.

  In this embodiment, the information display apparatus 100 can access all the information recording areas 106 existing in the information recording medium 107. However, the information display apparatus 100 can be accessed as an apparatus among a plurality of information recording areas. Only the area may be selected and displayed. For example, if the information display device has only the FAT16 file system, only the information in the information recording area 201 in FIG. 2 (region 302 in FIG. 3) is displayed, and the information display device has both the FAT16 and FAT32 file systems. If there is, information on both areas 301 and 302 in FIG. 3 is displayed. Alternatively, even in an information display device having both file systems, the display control unit 102 can intentionally select only one of the areas and restrict access to an arbitrary area.

  In this embodiment, the information recording areas are displayed hierarchically. That is, the information managed by the FAT16 file system is collectively displayed in one folder among the information managed by the FAT32 file system. Unlike this, the information managed by the FAT16 file system may be placed at the same level as the information managed by the FA32 file system (one level above the tree structure). Further, as long as information in the area is displayed, a display method in which icons are arranged and other display methods may be used without taking a tree structure.

  In this embodiment, the access area is switched by a command from the information display device 100. However, a mechanical switch may be provided on the information recording medium, and this switch may be switched from the information display device side.

  As described above, an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by individual file systems is obtained by acquiring area information while switching information recording areas and displaying the acquired information in a desired method. However, it is possible to display information of a plurality of recording areas. Even when there are a plurality of areas managed by the same file system, information of a plurality of recording areas can be displayed.

(Example 2)
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing configurations of an information display device and an information recording medium according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the constituent elements 500 to 507 correspond to the constituent elements 100 to 107 shown in FIG. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that an area switching notification unit 508 is provided in the information display device 500.

  Each block of the information display device 500 as the used area notification device configured as described above will be described. The display control unit 502 designates a display area and outputs information to that effect to the recording medium control unit 503. The recording medium control unit 503 issues a command for switching the area in order to access the area designated by the display control unit 502, and outputs the command to the command receiving unit 504 of the information recording medium 507. When notified that the access area in the information recording area 506 has been switched, the area switching notification unit 508 notifies the user of the information.

  On the other hand, the command receiving unit 504 of the information recording medium 507 receives an area switching command from the recording medium control unit 503, and when the access area in the information recording area 506 is switched, the information recording medium 507 is switched to the information recording apparatus 500. This is a notification. The access area determination unit 505 determines an access area based on the area switching command received from the recording medium control unit 503 by the command reception unit 504. The information recording medium 507 reads the information of the designated area of the information recording area 506 based on the determination result of the access area determination unit 505, and outputs the information from the information recording medium 507 to the information display device 500. Information on the area obtained from the information recording medium 507 is displayed on the display unit 501 by the display method specified by the display control unit 502. As in the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is used as a conceptual diagram of the information recording area of the information recording medium 507 in the second embodiment.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the used area notification device and the information recording medium in the embodiment of the present invention. For example, after accessing information stored in an information recording area managed by the FAT16 file system by an application that displays a list of recording information, the information stored in the information recording area managed by the FAT32 file system is stored. A case of accessing one will be described. In this case, first, the display area is designated by the display control unit 502. The recording medium control unit 503 issues an access area switching request to the information recording medium 507 (S601). The display control unit 502 designates the FAT32 file system, and transmits a command for switching to the information recording area managed by the FAT32 file system from the recording medium control unit 503 to the information recording medium 507.

  When the command receiving unit 504 receives a command to switch to the FAT32 file system, the information recording medium 507 switches the access area (S602). When the access area is switched, the information recording medium 507 notifies the information recording apparatus 500 that the area has been switched. When notified that the access area in the information recording area 506 has been switched, the area switching notification unit 508 notifies the user of the information (S603). For example, if the list of information already recorded in the area as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display unit 501 and the data folder 1 shown in the area 301 is accessed, the area 301 is shown as hatched. The icon color is changed to a color indicating that the icon is used, and the icon color indicated in the area 302 is changed to a color indicating that the icon is not used.

  Next, when the area is determined by the access area determination unit 505, the information recording medium 507 acquires the information recorded in the recording area (202 in FIG. 2) managed by the FAT32 file system in the information recording area 506. The information is output to the information display device 500 (S604). The data acquired from the information recording medium 507 is displayed on the display unit 501 by the display method determined by the display control unit 502 (S605). In the display unit 501, for example, information is displayed in a tree structure as indicated by 301 in FIG.

  In the above example, an information recording medium provided with two information recording areas managed by two of FAT32 and FAT16 as a file system has been described. The file system is not limited to these two, but may be NTFS, UDF, or any other unique file system. Further, the number of information recording areas is not limited to two, and if it is an integer number (plural), the same can be realized by repeatedly executing each step shown in FIG. 6 while switching the file system. A plurality of information recording areas may be areas managed by the same file system.

  In the above example, all information recording areas existing on the information recording medium can be accessed. However, among the plurality of information recording areas, only an area accessible as a device may be selected and displayed. I do not care. For example, if the information display apparatus has only the FAT16 file system, only the area 302 in FIG. 3 is displayed. If the information display apparatus has both the FAT16 and FAT32 file systems, both areas 301 and 302 in FIG. indicate. Alternatively, even in an information display apparatus having both file systems, it is possible to intentionally display only one of the areas by the display control unit 502 and restrict access to an arbitrary area.

  In this embodiment, in the information recording area display, the information managed by the FAT16 file system is collectively displayed in one folder among the information managed by the FAT32 file system. However, the information managed by the FAT16 file system may be placed at the same level as the information managed by the FA32 file system (one level above the tree structure). Further, as long as information in the area is displayed, a display method in which icons are arranged and other display methods may be used without taking a tree structure.

  In the present embodiment, the area switching notification unit 508 is notified by changing the color of the icon in the display unit 501 in S603, but the method is not limited as long as it is a method for notifying that the area has been switched. is not. You can change the shape of the icon, change the font, color, and thickness of the folder and file name, or add information. Also, the background of the display area may be changed, a dialog may be displayed at the time of switching, or a sound may be produced. Further, the area switching notification unit 508 may be an access lamp provided with the information display device 500, and may notify the light color or blinking at the time of area switching.

  In this embodiment, the area switching notification unit 508 exists in the information display apparatus 500, but may be in the information recording medium 507 as long as it can notify that the area has been switched. For example, there is an access lamp or a display unit on the information recording medium and a notification method using a light color or blinking, or a sound generation unit on the information recording medium and the area is switched by voice. A method of notification is also conceivable. The area notification unit 508 may be outside the information display device 500 or the information recording medium 507. For example, if the information display device 500 is a personal computer and the information recording medium 507 is a semiconductor memory card, an access lamp and an information display unit are provided on the adapter for the semiconductor memory card, and notification is given by the color or blinking of the light when switching areas. A way to do this is conceivable. When the area switching notification unit 508 exists outside the information display device, the information display device includes the external information information switching notification unit 508 to constitute a use area notification device.

  In FIG. 6, the step of S603 may be performed after the designated area information is displayed in S605. It is clear that the effect of notifying that the use recording area is changed by replacing these is the same.

  By using the method as described above, it is possible to notify the user that the used recording area has been changed in an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by different file systems.

(Example 3)
An information display device and an information recording medium in Example 3 of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the information display device and the information recording medium according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, constituent elements 800 to 808 correspond to the constituent elements 500 to 508 shown in FIG. The difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment is that an information recording area 806 has an authentication area and an authentication decoding section 809 that decodes encoded data.

  Each block of the information display device as the use area notification device configured as described above will be described. The display control unit 802 designates a display area and outputs information to that effect to the recording medium control unit 803. The recording medium control unit 803 issues a command for switching the area in order to access the area specified by the display control unit 802, and outputs the command to the command receiving unit 804 of the information recording medium 807. When notified that the access area in the information recording area 806 has been switched, the area switching notification unit 808 notifies the user of the information. The authentication decryption unit 809 decrypts the cipher using a key for data encryption.

  On the other hand, when the command receiving unit 804 of the information recording medium 807 receives an area switching command from the recording medium control unit 803 and the access area in the information recording area 806 is switched, the information recording medium 807 is switched to the information recording apparatus 800. This is a notification. The access area determination unit 805 determines an access area based on the area switching command received from the recording medium control unit 803 by the command reception unit 804. The information recording medium 807 reads the information of the designated area of the information recording area 806 based on the determination result of the access area determination unit 805, and outputs it from the information recording medium 807 to the information display device 800. Information on the area obtained from the information recording medium 807 is displayed on the display unit 801 by the display method specified by the display control unit 802.

  FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of the information recording area 806 in the present embodiment. FIG. 9A shows an example in which there are four information recording areas, and two authentication areas a and b correspond to two non-authentication areas A and B, respectively. The non-authentication area A is, for example, an area recorded by the FAT16 system, the non-authentication area B is, for example, an area recorded by the FAT32 system, and the authentication areas a and b are areas recorded by different file systems. FIG. 9B shows an example in which three information recording areas are provided and one authentication area c corresponds to two non-authentication areas C and D. FIG. 9C shows an example in which there are three information recording areas, and two authentication areas d and e correspond to one non-authentication area E. 9B and 9C, the non-authentication areas C and E are recorded in the FAT16 system and the non-authentication area D in the FAT32 system, and the authentication areas c, d, and e are recorded in different file systems. To do.

  FIG. 10 is a display example of the information recording area in the third embodiment of the present invention. Different information recording areas are displayed as different drives. Here, an example will be described in which the combination area of the non-authentication area A and the authentication area a is displayed as the drive A, and the combination area of the non-authentication area B and the authentication area b is displayed as the drive B.

  A flowchart showing the operation of the used area notification apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. For example, the information recording area 806 of the information recording medium 807 has four areas as shown in FIG. 9A, and encrypted data (for example, music data, video data, etc.) using the authentication area in an application for displaying a list of recorded information. ) Shall be displayed. In this case, since it is necessary to authenticate and acquire a key for data encryption existing in the authentication areas a and b and decrypt the encryption, a file system that can access the authentication areas a and b use. Further, a file system for the non-authentication area A is used for accessing the non-authentication area A, and a file system for the non-authentication area B is used for accessing the non-authentication area B. The display control unit 802 designates whether to access the non-authentication area A or the non-authentication area B. For example, a switching command is transmitted from the recording medium control unit 803 to the command receiving unit 804 of the recording medium 807 to the non-authentication area A and the authentication area a. First, the display area is specified by the display control unit 802, and the recording medium control unit 803 issues an access area switching request to the information recording medium 807 (S1101). When the command receiving unit 804 receives the area switching command, the recording medium 807 switches the access area (S1102).

  When the access area is switched, the information recording medium 807 notifies the information recording apparatus 800 that the area has been switched. When notified that the access area in the information recording area 806 has been switched, the area switching notification unit 808 notifies the user of the information (S1103). For example, if the information display device 800 is a device having voice output means such as a speaker, the name indicating the area is read out by voice or a beep sound is generated.

  As another notification method, when a list of areas is displayed as a drive as shown in FIG. 10 on the display unit 801, a color indicating that the icon color of the drive A is used when the drive A is accessed. Alternatively, other icons may be changed to colors indicating that they are not used.

  Next, an area is determined by the access area determination unit 805, information recorded in a combination area of the non-authentication area A and the authentication area a in the information recording area 806 is acquired, and the information display device 800 is obtained from the information recording medium 807. (S1104). The information display device 800 displays the data acquired from the information recording medium 807 on the display unit 801 by the display method determined by the display control unit 802 (S1105). For example, assume that video data in drive A has been acquired. In this case, the video data is decrypted based on the key of the authentication area a and the video information is displayed on the display unit 801. If the acquired data is the music playback time, the playback time and title are displayed on the display unit 801.

  When displaying the record information of the non-authentication area B, a switch command to the non-authentication area B and the authentication area b is transmitted, and the same processing is repeated. In this way, the access area is switched, the switched area is notified to the user, and information on the acquired area can be decoded and displayed.

  In the above example, an information recording medium provided with two information recording areas composed of the non-authentication area A and the authentication area a or the non-authentication area B and the authentication area b has been described. The configuration is not limited to two, and any other unique information recording area configuration may be used. Further, the number of information recording areas is not limited to two, and the same effect can be obtained if there are a plurality of information recording areas.

  If there are two non-authentication areas D and C and one authentication area c as shown in FIG. 9B, the authentication area c is read and displayed in the same manner when any non-authentication area is selected. To do. A plurality of information recording areas may be areas managed by the same file system.

  Also, in this embodiment, an example is given in which all information recording areas existing on the information recording medium can be accessed. However, among the plurality of information recording areas, only the area accessible as a device is selected and displayed. It doesn't matter. In this embodiment, the information recording area is displayed as a drive. However, a tree structure or other display method may be used.

  By using the method as described above, it is possible to notify that the use recording area in the information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by different file systems has been changed.

Example 4
An information display device and an information recording medium in Example 4 of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the information display apparatus and information recording medium of the present embodiment uses FIG. 8 similar to that of the third embodiment. Further, FIG. 10 similar to that of the third embodiment is used for the conceptual diagram of the information recording area, and FIG. The fourth embodiment is another example that can be realized by the same configuration as the third embodiment.

  Next, the operation of the used area notification apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, the display area is specified by the display control unit 802, and the recording medium control unit 803 issues an access area switching request to the information recording medium 807 (S1101). For example, when the information recording area 506 of the information recording medium 507 has a plurality of areas as shown in FIG. 9C, it exists in the authentication area d when accessing encrypted data stored in the non-authentication area E. It is necessary to access the data encrypted using the key for data encryption by performing authentication for the authentication area d. Further, it is necessary to access the data encrypted using the data encryption key existing in the authentication area e by performing authentication for the authentication area e. The display control unit 802 in the application designates whether to access the encrypted data using the data encryption key existing in the authentication area d or the authentication area e, and from the recording medium control unit 803. A command for switching to the information recording area constituted by the non-authentication area E and the authentication area d or the non-authentication area E and the authentication area e is transmitted to the command receiving unit 804 of the recording medium 807.

  In the recording medium 807, when the command receiving unit 804 receives an area switching command, the access area is switched (S1102). When the access area is switched, the information recording medium 807 notifies the information recording apparatus 800 that the area has been switched. When notified that the access area in the information recording area 806 has been switched, the area switching notification unit 808 notifies the user of the information (S1103). For example, if the information display device 800 is a device having a speaker, the name indicating the area is read out by voice or a beep is sounded.

  Next, the area is determined by the access area determination unit 805, and information recorded in the non-authentication area E and the authentication area d of the information recording area 506 or the combination of the non-authentication area E and the authentication area e is acquired. The information is output from the information recording medium 807 to the information display device 800 (S1104). The data acquired from the information recording medium 807 is decrypted by the authentication decryption unit 809 (S1105) and displayed on the display unit 801 by the display method determined by the display control unit 802 (S1106). For example, the information recorded in the combination area of the non-authentication area E and the authentication area d is the drive C in FIG. 10, and the information recorded in the combination area of the non-authentication area E and the authentication area e is shown in FIG. Displayed as drive D.

  By using the method as described above, it is possible to notify the use area by dividing the display on the information recording medium having a plurality of different authentication areas managed by the same file system. In addition, by making a beep sound, it is possible to notify that the use recording area has been changed.

(Example 5)
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing configurations of an information display device and an information recording medium according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. Components 1200 to 1208 shown in FIG. 12 are the same as the components 500 to 508 of FIG. 5 in the second embodiment. The difference between the fifth embodiment and the second embodiment is that the area switching notification unit 508 existing in the information display device 500 in the second embodiment is in the information recording medium 1207 in the fifth embodiment, and the information display device 1200. The area information memory 1209 is included therein.

  Each block of the information display device as the use area notification device configured as described above will be described. The display control unit 1202 designates a display area and outputs information to that effect to the recording medium control unit 1203. The recording medium control unit 1203 issues a command for switching areas in order to access the area specified by the display control unit 1202, and outputs the command to the command receiving unit 1204 of the information recording medium 1207. When notified that the access area in the information recording area 1206 has been switched, the area switching notification unit 1208 notifies the user of the information.

  On the other hand, when the command receiving unit 1204 of the information recording medium 1207 receives an area switching command from the recording medium control unit 1203 and the access area in the information recording area 1206 is switched, the information recording medium 1207 is switched to the information recording apparatus 1200. This is a notification. The access area determination unit 1205 determines an access area based on the area switching command received from the recording medium control unit 1203 by the command reception unit 1204. The information recording medium 1207 reads the information of the designated area of the information recording area 1206 based on the determination result of the access area determination unit 1205, and outputs it from the information recording medium 1207 to the information display device 1200. The area information obtained from the information recording medium 1207 is displayed on the display unit 1201 by the display method specified by the display control unit 1202.

  The display control unit 1202 specifies a display area and outputs it to the recording medium control unit 1203. Through a series of operations, information related to the area is displayed together with switching of the information recording area. The area information memory 1209 stores area information output from the information recording medium 1207 to the information display device 1200. For example, it is recorded in a RAM in the device or stored as a file on a hard disk. The area information stored in the area information memory 1209 is displayed on the display unit 1201 by the display control unit 1202 using the designated display method.

  Here, the area switching notification unit 1208 is provided in the information recording medium 1207, but it may be provided in the information display device 1200, or may be provided in this external adapter or the like. The use area notification device according to the fifth embodiment includes an area switching notification unit 1208 in addition to the information display device 1200 illustrated in FIG.

  In the fifth embodiment, FIG. 2 is used as a conceptual diagram of the information recording area 1206 of the information recording medium 1207 as in the first and second embodiments. Also, the display example of the information recording area uses FIG. 3 as in the first and second embodiments.

  The operation of the used area notification device and the information recording medium according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the display area is designated by the display control unit 1202, and the recording medium control unit 1203 issues an access area switching request to the information recording medium 1207 (S1301). For example, it is assumed that a list of information stored in all information recording areas is acquired by an application that displays a list of recorded information. In this case, the FAT32 file system is designated by the display control unit 1202 in the application, and the command receiving unit 1204 of the information recording medium 1207 is switched from the recording medium control unit 1203 to the information recording area managed by the FAT32 file system. Send a command.

  In the information recording medium 1207, when the command receiving unit 1204 receives a command to switch to the FAT32 file system, the access area is switched (S1302). When the access area is switched, the information recording medium 1207 notifies the information recording apparatus 1200 that the area has been switched. When notified that the access area in the information recording area 1206 has been switched, the area switching notification unit 1208 notifies the user of the information (S1303). In this embodiment, the area switching notification unit 1208 exists in the information recording medium 1207. For example, when an access lamp is provided in the semiconductor memory card, a method of notifying that the access lamp has been switched by blinking can be considered.

  Next, when the area is determined by the access area determination unit 1205 and information recorded in the recording area (202 in FIG. 2) managed by the FAT32 file system in the information recording area 1206 is acquired, the information is recorded on the information recording medium. The information is output from 1207 to the information display device 1200 (S1304). The data acquired from the information recording medium 1207 is stored in the area information memory 1209 (S1305).

  The steps from S1301 to S1305 are repeated, and the obtained information is stored in the area information memory 1209 while switching a plurality of information recording areas existing in the information recording area 1206. When the necessary repetition is completed, the process proceeds to S1306. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram of the area information memory 1209 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The area information memory 1209 stores data file names, recording areas, and the like. In S1306, a data list of the information recording area 1206 is displayed on the application. For example, as indicated by 301 in FIG. 3, information is displayed in a tree structure.

Next, it is assumed that data movement operation is performed on the application (S1307). In S1308, information on which information recording area the data to be moved is recorded is acquired from the information in the area information memory 1209, and the information recording area of the movement source and the movement destination is the same file system. It is judged whether it is managed by. If the source and destination information recording areas are managed by the same file system, the process proceeds to S1310 and the data is moved. If the file systems are different, the user is notified of a message that data is about to be moved to a different information recording area (S1309). For example, as shown in FIG. 14, when an application tries to move a file called data 2 in the information recording area managed by the FAT16 file system to the information recording area managed by the FAT32 file system, the following message is displayed. Displays a dialog or the like and notifies the user of area information.
“Data 2 is the data that exists in the FAT16 area. The destination is the FAT32 area. Do you want to move it?”
If there is confirmation from the user thereafter, the process proceeds to S1310 to move the data.

  In the above example, an information recording medium having two information recording areas managed by two of FAT32 and FAT16 is given as a file system. However, the file system is not limited to these two, and NTFS, UDF, Any other file system may be used. Further, the number of information recording areas is not limited to two, and the same can be realized if there are a plurality of information recording areas. An area managed by the same file system may exist in a plurality of information recording areas. Further, the steps of S1305 and S1306 shown in FIG. 13 may be interchanged. In the above example, the data movement has been described. However, it is preferable that the user is notified of the area information regarding the data copy.

  Next, FIG. 15 shows a modification of the fifth embodiment. In this modification, an adapter 1211 is connected between the information recording medium 1210 and the information display device 1200. An area switching notification unit 1208 is provided in the adapter 1211. The information recording medium 1211 includes a command receiving unit 1204, an access area determination unit 1205, and an information recording area 1206. The adapter 1211 connects, for example, a semiconductor memory to a PC that is an information display device. Also in this case, the fact that the area to be accessed has been switched can be displayed by the area switching notification unit 1208 provided in the adapter.

  By using the method as described above, it is possible to notify that the use recording area has been changed in an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by different file systems.

  In addition, since the area information memory is provided, once the information list is created, the area recorded on the application can be stored without having to directly access the data on the information recording medium when the data is moved or copied. It is possible to determine whether the file systems of the migration and copy destination areas are the same, leading to faster processing.

  The used area notification device and the used area notification method described in each of the above embodiments can be implemented at least in part by software, recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and distributed. be able to.

  The information recording medium use area notifying apparatus and the use area notifying method according to the present invention provide an access to an information recording medium that requires a plurality of different file systems, when a user selects an area to be used. The convenience can be improved by displaying the information. The present invention can be widely applied to personal computers, various portable information terminals, digital AV devices, and the like.

  Although preferred embodiments have been described herein, various other embodiments and modifications that will occur to those skilled in the art are within the scope and spirit of the invention. Such other embodiments and modifications are described below. Included in the claims.

  According to the use area notification device and the use area notification method of the present invention, it is possible to list the contents of a plurality of information recording areas existing in one information recording medium. The present invention can be applied to a use area notifying apparatus, a use area notifying method, and a recording medium recording the program for displaying information.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information display apparatus and information recording medium in Example 1 of this invention. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an information recording area in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a display example of an information recording area in Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a use area notification device according to the first exemplary embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information display apparatus in Example 2, and an information recording medium. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a used area notification device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display example of an information recording area in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information display device and an information recording medium in Example 3. 10 is a conceptual diagram of an information recording area in Embodiment 3. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram of an information recording area in Example 4. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of an information recording area in Embodiment 5. FIG. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a display example of an information recording area in Example 3. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a use area notification device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information display device and an information recording medium in Example 5. 10 is a conceptual diagram of an information recording area in Embodiment 5. FIG. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a region information memory in a fifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of an information display device and an information recording medium according to a modification of Example 5.

Explanation of symbols

100, 500, 800, 1200 Information display device 101, 501, 801, 1201 Display unit 102, 502, 802, 1202 Display control unit 103, 503, 803, 1203 Recording medium control unit 104, 504, 804, 1204 Command reception unit 105, 505, 805, 1205 Access area determination unit 106, 203, 506, 806, 1206 Information recording area 107, 507, 808, 1207 Information recording medium 508, 1208 Area switching notification unit 1209 Area information memory

Claims (25)

A used area notification device for accessing an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by individual file systems,
A recording medium control section for switching an information recording area for accessing the information recording medium;
A use area notifying device comprising: a display control unit that displays information of the plurality of information recording areas as an accessible area of the switched information recording area. The display control unit
The used area notification device according to claim 1, wherein information on a specific area selected from the plurality of information recording areas is displayed.   The used area notification device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays a plurality of information recording areas in a hierarchical manner.   The used area notification device according to claim 1, further comprising an area information memory for storing information relating to an information recording area of the information recording medium.   The used area notification device according to claim 1, further comprising an area switching notification unit that notifies that an information recording area to be used has been switched when the information recording area is switched.   6. The area switching notifying unit, when moving and copying data between the plurality of information recording areas, notifies the fact when the data transfer destination file system is different from the transfer source file system. Used area notification device. An area information memory for storing information relating to an information recording area of the information recording medium;
The area switching notification unit refers to the area information memory when moving and copying data between the plurality of information recording areas, and when the file system of the data transfer destination is different from the file system of the transfer source, The use area notifying device according to claim 5, which notifies the fact.   The used area notification device according to claim 5, wherein the area switching notification unit is provided in the information recording medium.   The use area notification device according to claim 5, wherein the area switching notification unit is provided in an adapter connected to the information recording medium.   The use area notification device according to claim 5, wherein the area switching notification unit changes a display mode every time the information recording area is switched.   The use area notification device according to claim 10, wherein the area switching notification unit notifies that the information recording area has been switched by a color change.   The use area notification device according to claim 10, wherein the area switching notification unit notifies that the information recording area is switched by a change in light.   The use area notification device according to claim 10, wherein the area switching notification unit notifies by sound that the information recording area has been switched. A usage area notification method in a usage area notification apparatus for accessing an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by individual file systems,
A medium control step of switching the information recording area for accessing the information recording medium;
A use area notification method comprising: a display control step for displaying information of the plurality of information recording areas as an accessible area for the switched information recording area. The display control step includes:
15. The used area notification method according to claim 14, wherein information is displayed by selecting a specific area from the plurality of information recording areas.   The use area notification device according to claim 14, wherein the display control unit displays a plurality of information recording areas in a hierarchical manner.   15. The used area notification method according to claim 14, further comprising a step of storing information relating to the information recording area in the area information memory.   The used area notification method according to claim 14, further comprising an area switching notification step of notifying that an information recording area to be used has been switched when the plurality of information recording areas are switched.   19. The area switching notifying step notifies, when moving and copying data between the plurality of information recording areas, if the data transfer destination file system is different from the transfer source file system. Usage area notification method. Storing information relating to the information recording area in the area information memory;
The area switching notification step refers to the area information memory when moving and copying data between the plurality of information recording areas, and when the file system of the data transfer destination is different from the file system of the transfer source, The used area notifying method according to claim 18, which notifies that effect.   19. The use area notification method according to claim 18, wherein the area switching notification step changes a display mode every time the information recording area is switched.   The used area notifying method according to claim 21, wherein the area switching notifying step notifies that the information recording area is switched by a color change.   The use area notifying method according to claim 21, wherein the area switching notifying step notifies that the information recording area is switched by a change in light.   The used area notification method according to claim 21, wherein the area switching notification step notifies by sound that the information recording area has been switched. A computer-readable recording medium that records a usage area notification method as a computer-executable program,
The usage area notification method is:
A use area notification method in a use area notification apparatus for accessing an information recording medium having a plurality of information recording areas managed by individual file systems,
A medium control step of switching the information recording area for accessing the information recording medium;
A recording medium comprising: a display control step for displaying information of the plurality of information recording areas as an accessible area of the switched information recording area.

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