JP2006099917A - Optical disk system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a reset caused by a standby state continuing for specified period or longer, in an optical disk system for recording data by a predetermined minimum recording data amount. <P>SOLUTION: The recording data from a host device are encoded and recorded on the optical disk 10 after stored in a buffer memory 38. The data recording is executed at a 1ECC block (16 sectors) unit. When the buffer memory 38 becomes the FULL state while not receiving the all data, a timer is started by a system controller 32, and residual data are stored in a spare area of the buffer memory 38 before the timing to reset by the host device, then the standby state is interrupted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a memory management technique in an optical disc apparatus, and more particularly, an optical disc apparatus in which a minimum amount of data to be recorded is set.

  When recording data on an optical disc, recording data supplied from an external device such as a host device is temporarily stored in a buffer memory, and the recording data is read from the buffer memory and supplied to an optical pickup. Etc. are sector formats, and data is recorded in units of 1 ECC block (16 sectors). Therefore, recording data for 16 sectors must be stored in the buffer memory.

  Patent Document 1 listed below describes a technique for providing a data amount in a recording data unit by adding dummy data when there is recording data less than the recording data unit in the buffer memory in the magneto-optical disk device. Yes.

  In the DVD-RAM drive, as a similar technique, when there is recording data less than 16 sectors in the buffer memory, the data already recorded in the DVD-RAM is read and the read data is buffered. A technique for storing data in 16 sectors by storing in a memory is known.

  5 and 6 schematically show a method of storing recording data in the conventional buffer memory 100. FIG. It is assumed that the memory capacity of the buffer memory 100 exists for 7 ECC blocks, the data length from the host device is 0X10, and the write command from the host device is sequential from 0X1000E (hexadecimal notation) of the logical block address LBA. Shall be repeated several times. The controller of the optical disk device receives a write command from the host device, and sequentially stores the recording data received from the logical block addresses 0X1000E to 0X1006D of the buffer memory 100. Then, the next write command is received sequentially from the host device, but the buffer memory has only a free space of 0X1006E to 0X1006F, and there is no free space for storing data with a data length of 0X10. Is determined to be FULL and does not receive data from the host device. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, there are free areas from 0X10000 to 0X1000D (a area in the figure) and free areas from 0X1006E to 0X1006F (b area in the figure), which is 16 sectors worth. Since there is no recording data, it cannot be recorded on the DVD-RAM as it is.

  Therefore, the controller accesses the respective addresses of the DVD-RAM to fill the areas a and b in the figure, reads the data existing at the corresponding addresses, and stores them in the buffer memory 100. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the buffer memory 100 is filled with data read from the DVD-RAM. The recording data for 16 sectors is stored in the buffer memory 100 as described above, and the controller reads these data in units of 16 sectors, supplies them to the optical pickup, and records them on the DVD-RAM.

JP-A-7-296507

  In this way, the portion less than one ECC block can be filled by reading from the optical disk and storing it in the buffer memory, but the buffer memory stores only a part of all data to be received from the host, The host device is in a standby state until all data is received from the host device and recorded on the optical disk. Since a predetermined time is required to access the optical disk, this standby state may reach a certain time, and the host device determines that data recording has not been performed normally due to time out. Thus, the write operation is reset so as to be interrupted. There are various reset modes depending on the writing software of the host device. For example, the recording may be disabled or the retry may be performed. However, in any case, there is a problem that the total recording time increases. Although it is conceivable to set the buffer memory capacity so that the host side does not wait for a certain time or more, generally the buffer memory is required to have a certain size from the viewpoint of efficiency and is not reset. It is difficult to determine unambiguously. In the case of a DVD-RAM or the like, since sudden processing such as replacement processing (re-recording when recording quality is bad) also occurs, even if it can be uniquely determined, all recording modes are used. I can't respond.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc apparatus capable of preventing time-out such as reset (interruption of recording) from an external device and thereby shortening the recording time.

  The present invention relates to an optical disk device for recording data on an optical disk with a predetermined minimum recording data amount, a buffer memory for temporarily storing data supplied from an external device, a spare buffer memory, and an empty area of the buffer memory. If the external device is determined to be in a FULL state without having a capacity necessary to store all of the data supplied from the external device, the external device is informed before the transition from the standby state to the time-out state. And control means for receiving the remaining data, storing it in the spare buffer memory, and transmitting recording completion to the external device.

  According to the present invention, even when the buffer memory is in the FULL state and the external device is in the standby state, the remaining data is stored in the spare buffer memory before the host device shifts to the reset state, so that the recording is performed on the external device. The completion can be notified, and the transition of the external device to the time-out state can be prevented.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a timer is started when the buffer memory is in a FULL state, and when the time measured by the timer reaches a certain time, the remaining data is received as a risk of being reset from an external device. And stored in the spare buffer memory.

  The spare buffer memory can be configured as a memory separate from the buffer memory, or can be configured by logically dividing a single buffer memory.

  According to the present invention, even when the buffer memory is in a FULL state, resetting from an external device can be prevented, thereby reducing the total recording time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of an optical disc apparatus according to the present embodiment. A rewritable optical disk 10 such as a DVD-RAM is rotationally driven by a spindle motor (SPM) 12. The spindle motor SPM 12 is driven by a driver 14, and the driver 14 is servo-controlled by a servo processor 30 so as to have a desired rotation speed.

  The optical pickup 16 includes a laser diode (LD) for irradiating the optical disk 10 with laser light and a photodetector (PD) that receives reflected light from the optical disk 10 and converts it into an electrical signal, and is disposed opposite to the optical disk 10. . The optical pickup 16 is driven in the radial direction of the optical disk 10 by a thread motor 18, and the thread motor 18 is driven by a driver 20. The driver 20 is servo-controlled by the servo processor 30 similarly to the driver 14. The LD of the optical pickup 16 is driven by a driver 22, and the driver 22 is controlled by an auto power control circuit (APC) 24 so that the drive current becomes a desired value. The APC 24 controls the drive current of the driver 22 so that the optimum recording power selected by OPC (Optimum Power Control) executed in the test area (PCA) of the optical disc 10 is obtained. The OPC is a process of recording test data on the PCA of the optical disc 10 by changing the recording power in a plurality of stages, reproducing the test data, evaluating the signal quality, and selecting a recording power that can obtain a desired signal quality. It is. For the signal quality, β value, γ value, modulation factor, jitter, etc. are used.

  When data recorded on the optical disk 10 is reproduced, a laser beam of reproduction power is irradiated from the LD of the optical pickup 16, and the reflected light is converted into an electric signal by the PD and output. A reproduction signal from the optical pickup 16 is supplied to the RF circuit 26. The RF circuit 26 generates a focus error signal and a tracking error signal from the reproduction signal and supplies them to the servo processor 30. The servo processor 30 servo-controls the optical pickup 16 based on these error signals, and maintains the optical pickup 16 in an on-focus state and an on-track state. Further, the RF circuit 26 supplies an address signal included in the reproduction signal to the address decoding circuit 28. The address decoding circuit 28 demodulates the address data of the optical disk 10 from the address signal and supplies it to the servo processor 30 and the system controller 32. In the case of a DVD-RAM, address data can be obtained by a CAPA (Complimentary Allocated Pit Addressing) method, and the address data present in the header portion recorded in the sector is reproduced. Further, the RF circuit 26 supplies the reproduction RF signal to the binarization circuit 34. The binarization circuit 34 binarizes the reproduction signal and supplies the obtained 8-16 modulation signal to the encoding / decoding circuit 36. In the encode / decode circuit 36, the binarized signal is demodulated and error-corrected by 8-16 to obtain reproduction data, and the reproduction data is output to a host device such as a personal computer via the interface I / F 40. When the reproduction data is output to the host device, the encoding / decoding circuit 36 temporarily stores the reproduction data in the buffer memory 38 and outputs it.

  When recording data on the optical disk 10, data to be recorded from the host device is supplied to the encode / decode circuit 36 via the interface I / F 40. The encode / decode circuit 36 stores data to be recorded in the buffer memory 38, encodes the data to be recorded, and supplies the data to the write strategy circuit 42 as 8-16 modulation data. The write strategy circuit 42 converts the EFM data into a multi-pulse (pulse train) according to a predetermined recording strategy and supplies it to the driver 22 as recording data. The recording strategy is composed of, for example, the pulse width of the first pulse, the pulse width of the subsequent pulse, and the pulse duty in the multi-pulse. Since the recording strategy affects the recording quality, it is usually fixed to a certain optimum strategy. A recording strategy may be set at the time of OPC. The laser light whose power is modulated by the recording data is irradiated from the LD of the optical pickup 16 and the data is recorded on the optical disk 10. After recording the data, the optical pickup 16 reproduces the recorded data by irradiating a laser beam with a reproduction power, and supplies it to the RF circuit 26. The RF circuit 26 supplies the reproduction signal to the binarization circuit 34, and the binarized 8-16 modulated data is supplied to the encode / decode circuit 36. The encode / decode circuit 36 decodes the 8-16 modulation data, and performs a replacement process when the data cannot be normally decoded. Specifically, the recorded data stored in the buffer memory 38 is recorded in the replacement area.

  In such a configuration, when the system controller 32 stores the recording data supplied from the host device in the buffer memory 38, when the buffer memory 38 is determined to be FULL, the data is read from the optical disc 10 in the same manner as in the prior art. The data for 16 sectors is filled by reading and storing in the buffer memory 38. In order to cancel the standby state of the host device during this period, the host device is requested for the remaining data not yet received, Store in spare area. Receiving and storing data in the spare area of the buffer memory 38 before reaching the timing for resetting the remaining data that has not yet been received at an appropriate timing, i.e., when the host apparatus is in a standby state for a certain time or longer, Reset (soft reset) can be prevented.

  FIG. 2 shows a management flowchart of the buffer memory 38 by the system controller 32.

  The system controller 32 determines whether or not a write command has been received from the host device (S101), and when the write command is received, subsequently receives the recording data from the host device and stores it in the buffer memory 38 ( S102). Then, it is determined whether or not the buffer memory 38 is in the FULL state (S103). If the free space in the buffer memory 38 is smaller than the data length supplied from the host device, it is determined that the buffer memory 38 is already in the FULL state, and the process proceeds to a predetermined recording operation on the optical disk. However, since the remaining data is still on the host device side during this time and the host device is in a standby state, the system controller 32 starts a built-in timer to measure the time of this standby state (S104). The process proceeds to the recording operation (S105). In the recording operation, each address of the optical disk 10 is accessed so as to fill an empty area less than one ECC block, data existing at the corresponding address is read and stored in the buffer memory 38, and then buffered in units of one ECC block as a minimum unit. This is executed by reading the recording data from the memory 38 and supplying it to the driver 22. The system controller 32 stores information in which all data has not been received in the built-in memory.

  The system controller 32 determines whether there is any remaining data in the host device during the recording operation on the optical disc 10 (S106, S107). If there is remaining data, the timer started in S104 is set for a predetermined time. Is determined (S108). This predetermined time is set to the time T until the host device side shifts from the standby state to reset, or T-α (α is a fixed margin). Until the timer reaches this time, the recording operation is continued because there is no reset yet. On the other hand, when the timer reaches a predetermined time (time-up), the system controller 32 requests the remaining data from the host device to prevent the reset, and the remaining data supplied from the host device is stored in the buffer memory 38. Store in the spare area (S109).

  Here, as a spare area of the buffer memory 38, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, two buffer memories 38 are prepared as a first buffer memory 38a and a second buffer memory 38b. It can be configured by switching. That is, first, the recording data received from the host device is stored in the first buffer memory 38a, and when the first buffer memory 38a is in the FULL state, the second buffer memory 38b is made to function as a spare buffer memory to store the remaining data. To do. Thereafter, the recording data received from the host device is sequentially stored in the second buffer memory 38b. When the second buffer memory 38b is in the FULL state, the first buffer memory 38a is made to function as a spare buffer memory and the remaining data is stored. Is stored. FIG. 3 shows how the remaining data is stored in the second buffer memory 38b before the host device shifts from the standby state to the reset state after the first buffer memory 38a enters the FULL state with the received data. Yes.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the spare area of the buffer memory 38 is divided into two areas of a single buffer memory 38 logically or virtually, and these are divided into a buffer memory 38a and a spare buffer memory 38b. It can also be. A one-dot chain line in the figure indicates a boundary between both memory areas. FIG. 4 shows how the remaining data is stored in the spare buffer memory 38b before the host device shifts from the standby state to the reset state after the buffer memory 38a enters the FULL state.

  As described above, the remaining data is requested from the host device, stored in the buffer memory 38, and the system controller 32 transmits a write command completion notice to the host device (S110). Thereby, the standby state on the host device side can be interrupted. Thereafter, the recording operation on the optical disk 10 is completed, and the next command from the host device is again waited for.

  In this embodiment, the standby state of the host device can be interrupted by storing the remaining data in the spare buffer memory, so that the capacity of the buffer memory 38 itself can be set arbitrarily.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an optical disc device according to an embodiment. It is a processing flowchart of an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of a reserve buffer memory. It is explanatory drawing of another spare buffer memory. It is data storage explanatory drawing (the 1) to a buffer memory. It is data storage explanatory drawing (the 2) to a buffer memory.

Explanation of symbols

  10 optical disk, 16 optical pickup, 32 system controller, 38 buffer memory.

Claims (4)

An optical disc apparatus for recording data on an optical disc with a predetermined minimum recording data amount,
A buffer memory for temporarily storing data supplied from an external device;
Spare buffer memory,
When the free area of the buffer memory does not have a capacity required to store all of the data supplied from the external device and is determined to be in a FULL state, the external device shifts from a standby state to a time-out state. Control means for receiving the remaining data from the external device before storing, storing it in the spare buffer memory, and transmitting recording completion to the external device;
An optical disc apparatus comprising: The apparatus of claim 1.
A timer for measuring time,
And the control means starts the timer when the buffer memory is determined to be in a FULL state, and the timer is set according to a transition time from the standby state to the time-out state of the external device. When the predetermined time is reached, the remaining data is received from the external device and stored in the spare buffer memory. The apparatus according to claim 1,
The optical disk apparatus, wherein the buffer memory and the spare buffer memory are configured by logically dividing a single buffer memory area. The apparatus according to claim 1,
The optical disk apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the buffer memory and the spare buffer memory are configured by alternately switching individual first buffer memories and second buffer memories.

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