JP2005353046A - Recording medium, host device, and data processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording medium, host device thereof and data processing method capable of easily checking the integrity of filesystem management information, when it is mounted on a host. <P>SOLUTION: A semiconductor recording medium (100) maintains an open flag (300) indicating the presence or the absence of the matching property of stored contents data and filesystem management information in a system area (139) directly inaccessible to a host device (200). The semiconductor recording medium automatically updates the open flag to "ON" (value indicating possible lack of matching property) upon receiving a request for write-in to a data recording section or an erasure request from the host device. When actual integrity is confirmed, the host device requests the recording medium to set the open flag to "OFF" (value indicating the presence of the matching property). Moreover, the host device refers to the open flag with a special command when mounted, and determines whether error check processing is required. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording medium, a host device that accesses the recording medium, and a data processing method between the recording medium and the host device. In particular, the present invention relates to an error check process when a host device mounts a recording medium when the recording medium is a semiconductor recording medium.

  There are various types of recording media for recording digital data such as music content, moving image content, and still image content, such as semiconductor recording media, magnetic disks, optical disks, and magneto-optical disks. Among these, semiconductor recording media are characterized by the fact that they can be reduced in size and weight, and thus have rapidly spread in recent years mainly in portable devices such as digital still cameras and mobile phone terminals. Typical semiconductor recording media include an SD memory card (registered trademark), a memory stick (registered trademark), and a compact flash (registered trademark). The capacity of these semiconductor recording media tends to increase at a rate of doubling every year.

  Management of digital data stored in the recording area of these semiconductor recording media is realized by a file system. In the file system, a recording area is divided into sectors that are minimum access units and clusters that are a set of sectors, and one or more clusters are managed as files.

  A FAT file system is an example of a file system conventionally used (see Non-Patent Document 1). The FAT file system is generally used in information equipment such as a personal computer (PC), and is a mainstream file system even in a semiconductor recording medium. In general, when the capacity of a recording area to be managed in a file system increases, information required for management (hereinafter referred to as “file system management information”) increases accordingly.

  A host device of a semiconductor recording medium such as a portable device mounts as preprocessing for processing digital data stored in the recording area of the semiconductor recording medium when the semiconductor recording medium is loaded. Specifically, in the mounting process, a file system management information read process, a content analysis of the read file system management information, an error check process, and the like are performed.

  If an abnormality is found in the file system management information, the host device needs to perform appropriate error processing and repair processing. Otherwise, the digital data recorded on the semiconductor recording medium by the host device is destroyed in an unrepairable state, or the digital data that should have been recorded by the host device cannot be reproduced normally by another host device. Such a fatal failure may occur. Therefore, the error check of the file system management information is an indispensable process for the host device that performs the writing process.

  However, as the file system management information increases as the capacity increases, the time required for error check processing at the time of mounting in the host device increases. Therefore, since the user always waits for a certain period of time before using the recording medium, there arises a problem that convenience is lowered.

  This problem also occurs when the number of error check items is increased to improve reliability.

  Conventionally, as a method for solving this problem, the following method has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, an “open flag” indicating whether or not the host device is using the semiconductor recording medium is provided in the recording area of the recording medium, and the open flag is turned on when the host device starts a series of writing processes. And the open flag is set to OFF when a series of write processing is completed and the file system management information is in a consistent state. The open flag set in this way indicates whether or not the data stored in the semiconductor recording medium is consistent with the file system.

  When the host device mounts the semiconductor recording medium, it refers to the open flag. If it is ON, it is determined that the process has been interrupted in the middle of a series of write processes, and if it is OFF, the series of write processes is completed normally. Judge. As described above, Patent Document 1 provides a method for simplifying the determination of the necessity of restoration of file system management information by referring to the open flag.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-12092 ISO / IEC9293, “Information Technology-Volume and file structure of disk cartridges for information”, 1994

  However, the above prior art has the following problems.

  That is, in Patent Document 1, since an open flag is provided in a recording area that is freely readable and writable by any host device, all host devices that write to the recording area correctly process the open flag. This guarantee is necessary. Otherwise, even if the open flag is OFF, the file system management information is not always in a consistent state.

  More specifically, in the recording medium of Patent Document 1, the open flag is updated by a direct instruction from the host device. That is, the open flag is turned ON / OFF by a command from the host device or direct writing. For this reason, if a host device that does not have an open flag processing function performs data recording or the like on a semiconductor recording medium having an open flag and terminates abnormally, there is no consistency between the data and the file system. Nevertheless, the open flag is OFF (indicating consistency). Therefore, if a host device that can process the open flag subsequently processes the recording medium by believing in the open flag, an operation failure may occur.

  As described above, in the method of Patent Document 1, once a recording medium having an open flag is accessed by a host device that does not support the open flag, the reliability of the open flag may be impaired. Therefore, there is a problem in that data cannot be exchanged between a conventional host device that does not have an open flag processing function and a new host device that supports the open flag using a semiconductor recording medium having an open flag. is there.

  In the present invention, in view of the above problems, it is possible to exchange data with a conventional host device not equipped with an open flag processing function, and to easily check the consistency of file system management information at the time of mounting. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium, a recording medium host device, and a data processing method.

  A recording medium according to the present invention stores data and is accessible from a host device, and controls a data recording unit that stores data, a host interface unit that communicates with the host device, and the recording medium And a control unit. The data recording unit has a data area for storing content data and a search information storage area for storing management information used when the host device acquires the content data. Further, the data recording unit stores an open flag indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency between the information stored in the data area and the information stored in the search information storage area. The control unit automatically updates the value of the open flag to a value indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency when a write request or erase request to the data recording unit is received from the host device.

  The host device according to the present invention has a data area for storing content data, a search information storage area for storing management information used when reading the content data, and information stored in the data area And a recording medium that stores an open flag indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency between the information stored in the search information storage area. The host device includes an access unit that exchanges information with a recording medium, and a data processing unit that controls operation of the host device. When the data processing unit refers to the open flag and indicates that the value of the open flag may be inconsistent, the information stored in the data area of the recording medium and the search information storage area If the process of confirming whether or not inconsistency has actually occurred with the information is executed and the value of the open flag does not indicate that there is a possibility of inconsistency, the confirmation process is omitted.

  The data processing method according to the present invention includes a data area for storing content data, a search information storage area for storing management information used when reading the content data, and information stored in the data area And a data processing method between a host device and a recording medium for storing an open flag indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency between the information stored in the search information storage area. In the data processing method, when the writing process or the erasing process occurs in the recording medium, the open flag is automatically updated to a value indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency in the recording medium, and the writing process or the erasing process is completed. After that, only when there is no inconsistency between the information stored in the data area of the recording medium and the information stored in the search information storage area, the value of the open flag from the host device to the recording medium. A request is sent to update to a value indicating that there is no possibility of inconsistency.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to omit the error check processing of the file system management information at the time of mounting in a state where the consistency of the file system management information of the recording medium has been confirmed, and the conventional method via the recording medium. Data can be exchanged with other host devices. This is particularly effective for a semiconductor recording medium and its host device that are expected to increase in capacity in the future.

  Embodiments of a recording medium, a host device, and a data processing method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a semiconductor recording medium 100 of the present invention and a host device 200 that accesses the semiconductor recording medium 100.

  The semiconductor recording medium 100 is a recording medium that is detachable from the host device 200, and includes a host interface unit 110, a control unit 120, and a data recording unit 130.

  The host interface unit 110 exchanges information with the host device 200 of the semiconductor recording medium 100.

  The control unit 120 performs internal control of the semiconductor recording medium 100, and includes a command processing unit 121, a logical / physical conversion control unit 122, a recording area access unit 123, and a flag update unit 125.

  The command processing unit 121 interprets and executes a command from the host device 200 received by the host interface unit 110 and notifies the host device 200 of the result via the host interface unit 110 as necessary.

  The logical-physical conversion control unit 122 performs conversion processing from a logical address, which is an address designated when the host device 200 accesses, to a physical address (physical address) in the data recording unit 130.

  The recording area access unit 123 accesses the digital data stored in the data recording unit 130 based on the physical address information calculated by the logical-physical conversion control unit 122.

  The flag update unit 125 performs update processing of the value of the open flag 300 (details will be described later).

  The data recording unit 130 is a part that stores digital data, and is physically composed of a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The data recording unit 130 includes a search information storage area 131, a data area 132, and a system area 139. I have.

  The search information storage area 131 and the data area 132 are areas in which arbitrary digital data can be read and written from the host device 200.

  The data area 132 is an area for storing arbitrary digital data (content data).

  The search information storage area 131 is an area for storing management information (such as a logical address and size) required when the host device retrieves the digital data (content data) stored in the data area 132. In the present embodiment, digital data stored in the data area 132 is managed by the FAT file system, and information (file system management information) necessary for the FAT file system is stored in the search information storage area 131.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the search information storage area 131 and the data area 132 when the FAT file system is adopted. In FIG. 2, a search information storage area 131 stores a master boot record / partition table that stores information for dividing and managing the data area 132 into areas called a plurality of partitions, and stores management information in one partition. The partition boot sector, the FAT table 1 and the FAT table 2 indicating the storage position of the data included in the file, and the root directory entry for storing information on the files and directories existing immediately under the root directory. The data area 132 is managed by being divided into units called clusters.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the system area 139 is an area that is not directly accessible from the host device 200, is an area that can be accessed from within the semiconductor recording medium 100, and is an area that stores internal register information of the semiconductor recording medium 100. It is. The system area 139 includes an open flag 300 indicating whether or not there is a possibility that the file system management information stored in the search information storage area 131 and the digital data stored in the data area 132 are not consistent.

  The open flag 300 has at least two values of “ON” and “OFF”, and “ON” may not be consistent between the actually stored data and the file system information. “OFF” indicates that there is consistency.

  The host device 200 includes an access unit 210, a flag processing unit 220, and a data processing unit 230.

  The access unit 210 delivers information such as commands and data to the semiconductor recording medium 100 mounted on the host device 200.

  The flag processing unit 220 controls the value of the open flag 300 of the semiconductor recording medium 100. Specifically, acquisition of the value of the open flag 300 and notification of the timing to set the value of the open flag 300 to “OFF” are performed via the access unit 210.

  The data processing unit 230 is a part that processes data stored in the semiconductor recording medium 100 or data to be stored in the future, and plays a central role in operation control of the host device 200.

  Hereinafter, the operation of each component of the semiconductor recording medium 100 and the host device 200 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the entire operation sequence of the semiconductor recording medium 100 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the semiconductor recording medium 100 after the semiconductor recording medium 100 is inserted into the host device 200.

  The semiconductor recording medium 100 executes an initialization process inside the semiconductor recording medium 100 in response to an initialization process request issued via the access unit 210 of the host apparatus 200 after the power supply from the host apparatus 200 is started (S301). ). Thereafter, the host device 200 enters a command waiting state.

  When a command is issued from the host device 200, the host interface unit 110 receives the command (S302) and notifies the control unit 120 of the command.

  If the command processing unit 121 of the control unit 120 interprets the received command and is a command that requests acquisition of the value of the open flag 300 (YES in S303), the process proceeds to step S304. If it is any other command (NO in S303), the process proceeds to step S305.

  In step S304, the command processing unit 121 acquires the value of the open flag 300 stored in the data recording unit 130 via the recording area access unit 123, and notifies the acquired value to the host device 200 via the host interface unit 110. (S304). Then, the next command wait state is entered.

  In step S305, if the command processing unit 121 of the control unit 120 interprets the received command and requests that the open flag 300 be updated to “OFF” (YES in S305), the processing of step S306 is performed. move on. If it is any other command (NO in S305), the process proceeds to step S307.

  In step S306, the flag update unit 125 sets the value of the open flag 300 stored in the data recording unit 130 via the recording area access unit 123 to “OFF” (S306), and sends it to the host device 200 as necessary. After executing the response process, the next command is waited for.

  In step S307, the command processing unit 121 of the control unit 120 interprets the received command, and the command updates the digital data stored in the search information storage area 131 and the data area 132 (that is, a write processing request). Or erasure processing request) (S307), the process proceeds to step S308. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S310.

  In step S308, the command processing unit 121 refers to the value of the open flag 300 stored in the data recording unit 130 via the recording area access unit 123. If “OFF” (consistency), the processing in step S309 is performed. If “ON” (no consistency), the process proceeds to S310.

  In step S309, the flag update unit 125 updates the value of the open flag 300 stored in the data recording unit 130 via the recording area access unit 123 to “ON”. As described above, the open flag of this embodiment is updated to “ON” by the control unit 120 in the semiconductor recording medium 100.

  In step S310, the control unit 120 executes processing according to the content of the received command. For example, when the request is a write processing request, the logical-physical conversion control unit 122 converts the logical address designated by the host device 200 into a physical address, and the data recording unit 130 via the recording area access unit 123 using the physical address. Write to. In the case of a read processing request, the logical-physical conversion control unit 122 converts the logical address designated by the host device 200 into a physical address and stores the digital address stored in the data recording unit 130 via the recording area access unit 123. Data is read and transmitted to the host via the host interface unit 110.

  After executing processing according to the content of the command, a response to the host device 200 is transmitted via the host interface unit 110 as necessary. After the process is completed, the process returns to step S302 to wait for the next command.

  Next, a sequence until the mounting process of the host device 200 when the semiconductor recording medium 100 is loaded will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the host device 200 in which the semiconductor recording medium 100 is mounted.

  The host device 200 requests initialization processing to the semiconductor recording medium 100 via the access unit 210 (S401). After the initialization process of the semiconductor recording medium 100 is completed, the host device 200 requests the semiconductor recording medium 100 to acquire the value of the open flag 300 (S402). In the present embodiment, the flag processing unit 220 issues a dedicated command for acquiring the value of the open flag 300 via the access unit 210.

  The value of the acquired open flag 300 is determined (S403). If the value is “ON”, the host device 200 is stored in the file system management information and data area 132 stored in the search information storage area 131. It is determined that there is a possibility that consistency with data is not achieved, and mount processing including error check processing for confirming consistency is executed (S404).

  If an error is detected by the error check process in step S404 and it is determined that the file system management information needs to be repaired, the process proceeds to step S407. If there is no need for repair, the process is completed.

  If it is determined in step S407 that the host device 200 includes file system management information restoration means, the process advances to step S408. If it is not provided, the process ends abnormally, and thereafter appropriate error processing is performed. For example, it is assumed that measures are taken such as stopping the operation or limiting to read access.

  In step S408, when the restoration of the file system management information is completed, the flag processing unit 220 issues a command for updating the open flag 300 to “OFF” via the access unit 210. Thereafter, if necessary, the mount process is re-executed to complete the process.

  On the other hand, if the value of the acquired open flag 300 is “OFF” in step S <b> 403, the host device 200 compares the file system management information stored in the search information storage area 131 and the data stored in the data area 132. It is determined that consistency is achieved, mount processing is executed without performing error check processing for confirming consistency (S405), and the processing is completed.

  In the recording medium of Patent Document 1, since the open flag is directly updated by the host device, the reliability of the open flag is impaired when processed by the host device that cannot process the open flag. There is a problem that a malfunction in the host device may occur in the host device that has been processed by believing in the above. In contrast, in the semiconductor recording medium 100 of the present embodiment, when the write command or the erase command is received from the host device 200, the semiconductor recording medium 100 itself automatically sets the open flag to ON (S309). For this reason, even when the recording medium is processed by a host device that cannot process the open flag, the open flag is always set to ON by the semiconductor recording medium 100 itself. On the other hand, the host device of the present embodiment first checks the open flag of the semiconductor recording medium 100 at the time of data recording and erasing, and executes consistency check processing when the open flag is ON (S403 to S405). Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even when a recording medium is processed by a host device that cannot process the open flag, the reliability of the open flag is ensured, and then the recording medium is compatible with the open flag. In the case of processing by the host device, the consistency check processing is reliably performed based on the open flag. For this reason, the malfunction which can be considered by patent document 1 can be prevented.

  Next, a post-processing sequence after the host device 200 executes a series of writing processes to the semiconductor recording medium 100 will be described.

  Here, “Sequential processing” represents a processing unit such as “from file open to file close” or “from mount to unmount”. When “Sequential write processing” is completed, an error occurs during processing. If it does not occur, it is assumed that the file system management information stored in the search information storage area 131 and the data stored in the data area 132 are in a consistent state.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the host device 200 in post-processing.

  After a series of processing is completed, the consistency between the file system management information stored in the search information storage area 131 and the data stored in the data area 132 is confirmed (S501). The flag processing unit 220 of the host device 200 requests the semiconductor recording medium 100 via the access unit 210 to set the value of the open flag 300 to “OFF” (S502). This embodiment is realized by issuing a dedicated command. In response to this request, the control unit 210 of the semiconductor recording medium 100 sets the open flag 300 to “OFF”.

  On the other hand, if an error occurs during a series of processes and there is a possibility that consistency is not achieved (NO in S501), the process ends abnormally, and appropriate error processing is performed thereafter.

  FIG. 6 shows the state of the open flag 300 of the semiconductor recording medium 100 after execution of a series of writing processes. As shown in FIG. 6, in the case of the host device 200 according to the present invention, the open flag 300 is set to “OFF” at the normal end. It will be set to “ON” upon abnormal termination due to a write error or power interruption. On the other hand, since the conventional host device does not know the means for setting the open flag 300 to “OFF”, it is always “ON” after the writing process.

  That is, if the series of processing ends without error, the open flag 300 is returned to “OFF” in the post-processing. When a conventional host device that does not support the open flag writes to the semiconductor recording medium 100 and performs a deletion process, the post-process is not executed, and therefore the open flag 300 remains “ON”. When the host device corresponding to the open flag accesses the semiconductor recording medium 100 for the first time, it is possible to recognize that the consistency of the semiconductor recording medium 100 may not be obtained by referring to the open flag 300. . On the other hand, if the open flag 300 is “OFF”, the consistency between the file system management information stored in the search information storage area 131 and the data stored in the data area 132 is secured.

  As described above, the semiconductor recording medium 100 according to the present invention includes the open flag 300 in an area that cannot be directly accessed by the host device 200, and stores the data stored in the search information storage area 131 and the data area 132 from the host apparatus 200. When a command to be updated (that is, a write process request or an erase process request) is received, the semiconductor recording medium 100 itself automatically sets the open flag 300 to “ON”.

  In addition, the host device 200 according to the present invention can be used when the file system management information stored in the search information storage area 131 of the semiconductor recording medium 100 and the data stored in the data area 132 are consistent. As far as it is concerned, the semiconductor recording medium 100 is requested to set the open flag 300 to “OFF”.

  Thereby, since the reliability of the open flag 300 when the open flag 300 is “OFF” is ensured, the host device 200 omits the error check process by referring to the open flag 300 during the mounting process of the semiconductor recording medium 100. It is possible to determine in advance whether or not this is possible. The effect of the present invention increases as the time required for the error check process increases. Therefore, this is particularly effective in a semiconductor recording medium whose capacity is increasing.

Second Embodiment Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the semiconductor recording medium 500 and the host device 600 that accesses the semiconductor recording medium 500 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the data recording unit 530 of the semiconductor recording medium 500.

  The difference of the semiconductor recording medium 500 of this embodiment from the first embodiment is as follows.

  The data recording unit 530 of the semiconductor recording medium 500 of the present embodiment has three data areas as shown in FIG. 8, and can be selectively set to any one area. Therefore, the data recording unit 530 stores a plurality of sets of search area information storage areas, data areas, and open flags. These sets are used by being switched by a command from the host device, and only one set is effective. For this reason, the data recording unit 530 includes a selected set storage unit 800 that stores information related to the currently valid set in the system area 539.

  In addition, the difference between the host device and the first embodiment is that the host device 600 of the present embodiment includes a set switching instruction unit 640 that instructs switching of a plurality of sets existing in the semiconductor recording medium 500. It is. That is, in the present embodiment, the semiconductor recording medium 500 includes three sets, and the host device 600 can be used by switching them. Each set is described below.

    Set 1: It comprises a first search information storage area 531, a first data area 532, and a first open flag 701. The host device 600 can access only the first search information storage area 531 and the first data area 532.

    Set 2: a second search information storage area 533, a second data area 534, and a second open flag 702. The host device 600 can access only the second search information storage area 533 and the second data area 534. In addition, any one of the second search information storage area 533 and the second data area 534 and the first search information storage area 531 and the first data area 532 is selectively enabled.

    Set 3: a third search information storage area 535, a third data area 536, and a third open flag 703. The host device 600 can access only the third search information storage area 535 and the third data area 536. The areas of the third search information storage area 535 and the third data area 536 are the first search information storage area 531, the first data area 532, the second search information storage area 533, and the second data area 534. Is equal to the combined area.

  Hereinafter, operations of the semiconductor recording medium 500 and the host device 600 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation outline of the semiconductor recording medium 500 after the semiconductor recording medium 500 is inserted into the host device 600.

  The semiconductor recording medium 500 executes initialization processing inside the semiconductor recording medium 500 in response to the initialization processing request issued via the access unit 610 of the host device 600 after the power supply from the host device 600 is started (S901). ). At this time, the control unit 520 refers to the value stored in the selected set storage unit 800 and determines whether to use “set 1”, “set 2”, or “set 3”. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the selected set storage unit 800 stores information on the set used last time. The specification may be such that a specific set is always valid during the initialization process.

  After initialization processing, the host device 600 waits for a command. When a command is issued from the host device 600, the host interface unit 510 receives the command (S902) and notifies the control unit 520 of the command.

  If the command processing unit 521 of the control unit 520 interprets the received command and requests acquisition of the value of the open flag (YES in S903), the process proceeds to step S904. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S905.

  In step S904, the command processing unit 521 corresponds to the set selected by the selected set storage unit 800 among the three open flags 701, 702, and 703 stored in the data recording unit 530 via the recording area access unit 523. Get the value of what to do. After the acquired value is notified to the host device 600 via the host interface unit 110, the next command wait state is entered.

  In step S905, the command processing unit 521 of the control unit 520 interprets the received command, and if the command is a command requesting to update the open flag to “OFF”, the process proceeds to step S906. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S907.

  In step S906, the flag update unit 525 corresponds to the set selected by the selected set storage unit 800 among the three open flags 701, 702, and 703 stored in the data recording unit 530 via the recording area access unit 523. The value of the object is set to “OFF”, response processing to the host device 600 is executed as necessary, and the next command wait state is entered.

  In step S907, the command processing unit 521 of the control unit 520 interprets the received command, and if the command is a command requesting the host device 600 to switch the set, the process proceeds to step S908. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S909.

  In step S908, the flag update unit 525 updates the value of the open flag according to the set before and after switching. Specifically, the flag update unit 525 has an open flag update table as shown in FIG. 10, and updates the three open flags with reference to the open flag update table. For example, when switching from set 1 to set 2 as shown in FIG. 10A, the values of the open flags 701 and 702 are not changed, and only the open flag 703 is changed to “ON”.

  Thereafter, the command processing unit 521 stores the information of the set after switching in the selected set storage unit 800. Thereafter, response processing to the host device 600 is executed as necessary, and the next command wait state is entered.

  In step S909, the command processing unit 521 of the control unit 520 interprets the received command, and the command updates the data stored in the search information storage area and the data area (that is, a write process request, an erase process request, etc.). ), The process proceeds to step S910. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S912.

  In step S910, the command processing unit 521 corresponds to the set selected by the selected set storage unit 800 among the three open flags 701, 702, and 703 stored in the data recording unit 530 via the recording area access unit 523. If the value is “OFF”, the process proceeds to step S911. If “ON”, the process proceeds to step S912.

  In step S911, the flag update unit 525 corresponds to the state selected by the selected set storage unit 800 among the three open flags 701, 702, and 703 stored in the data recording unit 530 via the recording area access unit 523. The value of the thing is updated to “ON”.

  In step S912, control unit 520 executes processing according to the content of the received command. For example, when the request is a write processing request, the logical-physical conversion control unit 522 converts the logical address designated by the host device 600 into a physical address, and uses the physical address to record the data recording unit 530 via the recording area access unit 523. Write to. Also, for example, in the case of a read processing request, the logical-physical conversion control unit 522 converts the logical address designated by the host device 600 into a physical address and stores it in the data recording unit 530 via the recording area access unit 523. The digital data is read out and transmitted to the host via the host interface unit 510.

  The logical-physical conversion control unit 522 can perform appropriate access control by acquiring information about the currently selected set from the selected set storage unit 800 via the recording area access unit 523.

  After executing processing according to the contents of the command, a response to the host device 600 is transmitted via the host interface unit 510 as necessary. After the process is completed, the process returns to step S902 to wait for the next command.

  By the way, the open flag update table is created according to the following rules.

  Since the areas accessed from the host device 600 do not overlap in the set 1 and the set 2, the influence of the write process / erase process in one set does not affect the other set. Therefore, since it is not necessary to update the open flag before and after the switching process, it is set as “as is”.

  In set 1 and set 3, and in set 2 and set 3, the areas that can be accessed from the host device 600 overlap, and therefore the influence of the writing process / erasing process in one set affects the other set. Therefore, the open flag is set to “ON” before and after the switching process.

  Next, a processing sequence on the host device 600 side will be described.

  The sequence up to the completion of the mounting process of the host device 600 when the semiconductor recording medium 500 is loaded is exactly the same as the operation sequence shown in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment.

  Further, the post-processing sequence after the host device 600 executes a series of writing processes to the semiconductor recording medium 500 is exactly the same as the operation sequence shown in FIG. 5 in the first embodiment.

  As described above, the semiconductor recording medium 500 according to the present invention has three types (sets) of search information storage areas, data areas, and open flags, and can be used by switching them. When a command (that is, a write process request, an erase process request, etc.) for updating the data stored in the search information storage area and the data area is received from the host device 600, it corresponds to the currently selected set. The open flag is automatically set to “ON”. In addition, a function of notifying the host device of the value of the open flag corresponding to the currently selected set is provided.

  Further, the host device 600 according to the present invention has consistency between the file system management information stored in the search information storage area and the digital data stored in the data area in the currently selected set of the semiconductor recording media 500. Only when it is possible, the semiconductor recording medium 500 is requested to set the open flag to “OFF”.

  Therefore, the host device 600 can easily determine whether or not the error check process can be omitted by referring to the open flag of the currently selected set during the mounting process of the semiconductor recording medium 500. The effect of the present invention increases as the time required for the error check process increases. Therefore, this is particularly effective in a semiconductor recording medium whose capacity is increasing.

  In each of the above embodiments, the following modifications are also conceivable.

  (1) Although the semiconductor recording medium has been described in each embodiment, the above-described concept of the present invention can be applied to a recording medium with a built-in controller such as a hard disk.

  (2) In each embodiment, the FAT file system is used in the search information storage area 131, but other file systems such as FAT32 and UDF may be used. Alternatively, the logical capacity and recording address may be managed in the search information storage area 131 without using a file system.

  (3) In each embodiment, an example in which the semiconductor recording medium 100 provides a dedicated command for reading the value of the open flag 300 to the host device 200 has been described, but this dedicated command is not necessarily required. For example, the value of the open flag 300 may be notified as a part of response information of another command. In this case, since it is often before the mount process that the host device 200 refers to the value of the open flag 300, it is effective to add it to the response information for the command during the initialization process.

  (4) In each embodiment, the timing at which the host device 200 issues a request to update the open flag 300 of the semiconductor recording medium 100 to “OFF” is the time when the “series of write processing” is completed. If the file system management information stored in the information storage area 131 and the data stored in the data area 132 are in a consistent state, they may be issued anytime.

  (5) When the semiconductor recording medium 100 has a function of executing a format (logical initialization) process, immediately after the format process, an open flag (in the case of the second embodiment, a set to be formatted) The corresponding flag) may be automatically set to “OFF”.

  (6) When the host device makes a request to set the value of the open flag of the semiconductor recording medium to “OFF”, the search information storage area 131 (in the case of the second embodiment) also in the control unit of the semiconductor recording medium The file system management information stored in the currently selected one) and the data stored in the data area (the one currently selected in the second embodiment) are checked. If they are inconsistent, the value of the open flag may not be set to “OFF”. At this time, since the consistency check is performed by both the host device and the semiconductor recording medium, it is possible to expect the effects of improving the accuracy of the consistency check and distributing the processing load.

  (7) In the second embodiment, the semiconductor recording medium has three sets. However, any number of sets may be used as long as there are two or more sets.

  (8) In the second embodiment, when the region switching command is received, the flag update unit 525 refers to the open flag update table and updates the value of each open flag (S908). It does not have to be immediately after. For example, the update may be performed at the timing when the write process request or the erase process request is first received after the area switching process.

  The semiconductor recording medium, the host device of the semiconductor recording medium, and the data processing method according to the present invention are useful as a recording medium with a built-in controller for managing digital data by a file system, and are particularly suitable for the semiconductor recording medium.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a semiconductor recording medium and a host device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the information search storage area and data area in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the semiconductor recording medium in the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operations from initialization of the semiconductor recording medium to mounting processing in the host device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of post-processing after a series of write processing ends in the host device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a state of the open flag after a series of write-in processes in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the semiconductor recording medium and the host apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the data recording part in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the entire operation of the semiconductor recording medium in the second embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed an example of the open flag transition table in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Semiconductor recording medium 110 Host interface part 120 Control part 130 Data recording part 121 Command processing part 122 Logical-physical conversion control part 123 Recording area access part 125 Flag update part 131 Search information storage area 132 Data area 139 System area 200 Host apparatus 210 Access Section 220 Flag processing section 230 Data processing section 300 Open flag

Claims (14)

In a storage medium that stores data and is accessible from the host device,
A data recording unit for storing various data;
A host interface unit for communicating with the host device;
A control unit for controlling the recording medium,
The data recording unit includes a data area for storing content data, and a search information storage area for storing management information used when a host device acquires the content data, and the data recording unit Stores an open flag indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency between the information stored in the data area and the information stored in the search information storage area,
The control unit automatically updates the value of the open flag to a value indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency when a write request or erase request to the data recording unit is received from the host device. A recording medium characterized by the above.   The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the data recording unit further includes a system area that is an area that cannot be directly accessed from the host device, and the open flag is stored in the system area.   The recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a dedicated command for a host device to acquire the value of the open flag.   The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the control unit notifies the host device of a value of the open flag together with response information to the initialization process when the initialization process is executed.   When the host device requests to change the value of the open flag to a value indicating that the inconsistency has not occurred, the control unit searches the information stored in the data area and the search A check is made as to whether or not inconsistency occurs between information stored in the information storage area, and if the result of the check indicates inconsistency, the value of the open flag may indicate the possibility of inconsistency. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is not changed to a value indicating that there is no recording.   The control unit has a function of logically initializing the search information storage area, and immediately after executing the logical initialization, the open flag is set to the information stored in the data area and the information 2. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the search information storage area is automatically updated to a value indicating that consistency is maintained. The data area of the data recording unit can be selectively set to one size among a plurality of area sizes, and the data recording unit includes a search information storage area, a data area, and a data area for each size of the data area. And an open flag as a set, and further, information indicating one set being selected is stored,
The control unit refers to information indicating one set being selected, and accesses a search information storage area, a data area, and an open flag related to the one set being selected. The recording medium described.   When the data area and the search information storage area before the switching process do not overlap the data area and the search information storage area after the switching process at the time of the switching process of each set, an open flag included in each set The recording medium according to claim 7, wherein the value of is not changed.   8. The value of an open flag included in each set is updated when a write process request or an erase process request after the switch process is first received when the switch process of each set occurs. The recording medium described.   The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the data recording unit includes a nonvolatile memory. A data area for storing content data; a search information storage area for storing management information used when reading the content data; and information stored in the data area and the search information storage A host device that accesses a recording medium that stores an open flag indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency with information stored in an area,
An access unit that exchanges information with the recording medium, and a data processing unit that controls the operation of the host device,
The data processing unit refers to the open flag, and if the value of the open flag indicates that there is a possibility of inconsistency, information stored in the data area of the recording medium, and the search information When checking whether or not inconsistency has actually occurred with the information stored in the storage area, if the value of the open flag does not indicate that there is a possibility of inconsistency, A host device characterized in that the confirmation process is omitted.   The data processing unit updates the value of the open flag to a value indicating that there is no possibility of inconsistency when it is determined that the inconsistency has not occurred as a result of executing the confirmation processing. The host device according to claim 11, wherein the request is issued to the recording medium. A data area for storing content data; a search information storage area for storing management information used when reading the content data; and information stored in the data area; and the search information storage area A data processing method between a recording medium for storing an open flag indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency with information stored in the host device, and a host device,
When a writing process or an erasing process occurs in the recording medium, the open flag is automatically updated in the recording medium to a value indicating that there is a possibility of inconsistency,
The host device only when there is no inconsistency between the information stored in the data area of the recording medium and the information stored in the search information storage area after completion of the writing process or the erasing process To the recording medium, a request for updating the value of the open flag to a value indicating that there is no possibility of inconsistency is transmitted. Further, referring to the value of the open flag, it is determined whether there is a possibility of inconsistency between the information stored in the data area of the recording medium and the information stored in the search information storage area,
According to the determination result, whether or not it is necessary to execute a process for confirming whether there is an actual mismatch between the information stored in the data area of the recording medium and the information stored in the search information storage area. 14. The data processing method according to claim 13, wherein determination is made.

Images