JP2006331642A - Information recording medium, information recording method and information recording/reproduction system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information recording medium capable of expanding a spare area in accordance with the frequency of the occurrence of a defective sector. <P>SOLUTION: The information recording medium includes: a first spare area 102 including a spare sector in substitution for a defective sector; a defect management information area 101 for managing the substitution of the defective sector by the spare sector; and a volume space 100a in which user data can be recorded. The volume space 100a is configured so that a second spare area 108 including a spare sector in substitution for a defective sector can be additionally allocated. Location information indicating a location of the second spare area 108 is recorded in the defect management information area 101. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information recording medium, an information recording method, and an information recording / reproducing system capable of improving the reliability of data recording by dynamically expanding a spare area according to the occurrence frequency of defective sectors.

  There is an optical disc as an information recording medium having a sector structure. In recent years, the density and capacity of optical discs have been increasing, and ensuring the reliability of optical discs has become an important issue.

  Conventionally, there is known a defect management method for managing defective sectors (that is, sectors where data cannot be recorded / reproduced) on an optical disk. A spare area is prepared in advance on the optical disk. If there is a defective sector on the optical disc, the defective sector is replaced with another sector in the spare area. Thereby, the reliability of the optical disk is ensured. Such a defect management method is described in ISO / IEC10090, an international standardization organization for 90 mm optical disks.

  The outline of the conventional defect management method described in the international standardization organization ISO / IEC10090 of the 90 mm optical disk will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 12 shows the structure of a data recording area 800 of a conventional optical disc.

  The data recording area 800 includes a plurality of sectors. Each of the plurality of sectors is assigned a physical sector number (Physical Sector Number; hereinafter referred to as PSN).

  The data recording area 800 includes a defect management information area 801, a spare area 802, and a volume space 800a. The volume space 800a is arranged immediately after the spare area 802 and is defined as an area where user data can be recorded. Each sector included in the volume space 800a is assigned a logical sector number (hereinafter referred to as LSN).

  Note that the size of the spare area 802 is set in advance. In order to change the size of the spare area 802, it is necessary to change the data structure of the substitute information stored in the defect management information area 801 by using a special command by the physical format utility software. Hereinafter, this process is referred to as an initialization process.

  FIG. 13 shows a procedure of conventional format processing and data recording processing. These processes are executed by the system control device and the optical disk drive device. The optical disk drive device is connected to the system control device. The system control device is, for example, a computer system.

  The format process includes steps S901 to S903 shown in FIG. The data recording process includes steps S904 to S911 shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, the numbers beginning with S described with the arrows indicate recording operations corresponding to the steps shown in FIG.

  When the optical disk is inserted into the optical disk drive apparatus, the optical disk drive apparatus reads the defect management information area 801 and recognizes replacement information indicating that the defective sector has been replaced with a spare sector (step S901).

  The system control device executes a FAT / root directory creation process and transmits a write command and data to the optical disc drive device (step S902).

  The optical disc drive apparatus recognizes the physical structure of the optical disc using the format utility software, and records the data transmitted from the system control device from the head of the volume space 800a (step S903). As a result, the FAT area 803 and the root directory area 804 are arranged from the head of the volume space 800a. Such a logical format process is the same as the format process of the MS-DOS type file system. As a result, the area immediately after the root directory area 804 to the end of the optical disk is handled as a file data space 800b managed by the FAT.

  Hereinafter, a data recording process for recording data (File-a) under the root directory will be described.

  The system control apparatus executes a data (File-a) recording process, and transmits a write command and data to the optical disc drive apparatus (step S904). The location where the data is to be recorded is specified by the LSN.

  The optical disk drive device records the data transmitted from the system control device in the sector to which the designated LSN is assigned (step S905). Whether or not the data is correctly recorded is determined by reading the recorded data and comparing the read data with the transmitted data. When the data is not correctly recorded, the sector to which the designated LSN is assigned is detected as a defective sector. The defective sector is mainly generated when dust or dust adheres to the optical disk.

  For example, assume that sector b (sector 814) shown in FIG. 12 is detected as a defective sector. In this case, the optical disk drive device records the data to be recorded in the defective sector 814 in the # 1 spare sector 810 of the spare area 802, and # 1 replacement entry 832 indicating that the defective sector 814 is replaced with the # 1 spare sector 810. Is generated as defect management information, and # 1 alternative entry 832 is recorded in the defect management information area 801 (step S906).

  The # 1 replacement entry 832 includes position information 833 indicating the position of the defective sector and position information 834 indicating the position of the spare sector of the replacement destination. Each of the position information 833 and 834 is represented by PSN.

  When the system controller instructs the optical disk drive device to read data from the defective sector 814, the optical disk drive device performs address conversion with reference to the # 1 alternative entry 832 and reads data from the # 1 spare sector 810. .

  Thus, by replacing the defective sector with the spare sector, it is possible to guarantee the reliability of the optical disc. In addition, since the defective sector replacement process is performed by the optical disk drive apparatus, the system control apparatus can always record data at a position corresponding to the designated LSN. As a result, the system control apparatus can handle the optical disc as a defect-free medium.

  Next, the system control apparatus executes a root directory recording process, and transmits a write command and data to the optical disc drive apparatus (step S907).

  The optical disc drive apparatus updates the root directory information recorded in the root directory area 804 according to the data transmitted from the system control apparatus (step S908).

  The system control apparatus executes a FAT recording process and transmits a write command and data to the optical disc drive apparatus (step S909).

  The optical disc drive apparatus updates the FAT information recorded in the FAT area 803 according to the data transmitted from the system control apparatus (step S910). In this way, data (File-a) is registered under the root directory.

  The optical disc drive apparatus records the updated defect management information in the defect management information area 801. Such recording is performed when there is no data recording instruction from the system control apparatus for several seconds.

  In the conventional defect management method described above, the size of the spare area is fixed. Therefore, even if there is an unallocated area that can be recorded on the optical disk, data cannot be recorded on the optical disk if the defective sector is larger than the size of the spare area. In order to record data on the optical disk, it is necessary to change the size of the spare area by performing initialization processing on the optical disk again. In this case, since the allocation of the LSN changes over the entire volume space, it is necessary to back up the data recorded in the volume space to another medium before performing the initialization process.

  In particular, when an optical disc is used in a consumer device, the user may handle the optical disc while eating, or a child may unexpectedly touch the surface of the optical disc, which is more defective than expected by the optical disc manufacturer. Sectors can occur.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is an information recording that can guarantee the reliability of data recording by dynamically expanding a spare area according to the occurrence frequency of defective sectors. It is an object to provide a medium, an information recording method, and an information recording / reproducing system.

  An information recording medium of the present invention is an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors, and includes a first spare area including a replacement area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors, A data recording area including a defect management information area in which defect management information for managing replacement from a defective area including a defective sector to a replacement area including the spare sector is recorded, and a volume space in which user data can be recorded; In the data recording area, a second spare area including a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including the defective sector among the plurality of sectors can be arranged and expanded, and the defect management information area includes the defect management information area, First information indicating whether or not there is an alternative area including an available spare sector in the first spare area, and an available spare area in the second spare area. It has an area for recording second information indicating whether or not the spare area there including sector, thereby the objective described above being achieved.

The information recording method of the present invention is an information recording method for recording information on an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors, wherein the information recording medium replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors. A first spare area including a replacement area including a defect management information area in which defect management information for managing replacement from a defective area including the defective sector to a replacement area including the spare sector is recorded, and user data is recorded A data recording area including a possible volume space is provided, and a second spare area including a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors can be expanded in the data recording area And
In the defect management information area, second information indicating whether or not there is an alternative area including a usable spare sector in the second spare area is recorded, and the information recording method includes: (a) the first information recording method; (B) acquiring information indicating the usage status of the second spare area by referring to the information of (2), and (b) in the data recording area according to the information indicating the usage status of the second spare area. Determining whether or not to extend a second spare area including a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among a plurality of sectors; and (c) extending the second spare area Includes the step of setting a part of the volume space as the second spare area, thereby achieving the above object.

  The step (c) includes (c-1) a step of reducing the size of the volume space, and (c-2) a step of securing a region on the outer periphery side following the reduced volume space as the second spare region. And may be included.

  The information recording / reproducing system of the present invention is an information recording / reproducing system for an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors, and the information recording medium replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors. A first spare area including a replacement area including a defect management information area in which defect management information for managing replacement from a defective area including the defective sector to a replacement area including the spare sector is recorded, and user data is recorded A data recording area including a possible volume space is provided, and a second spare area including a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors can be expanded in the data recording area The defect management information area indicates whether or not there is an alternative area including a usable spare sector in the second spare area. 2 is recorded, and the information recording / reproducing system refers to the second information, and acquires a spare area remaining amount detecting unit that obtains information indicating a usage status of the second spare area, and Whether or not to extend a second spare area having a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors in the data recording area according to information indicating a usage status of the two spare areas A spare area expansion determination unit for determining whether or not the second spare area is to be expanded, and a spare expansion area allocation unit that uses a part of the volume space as the second spare area. The above object is achieved.

  The spare expansion area allocating unit may reduce the size of the volume space and secure an outer peripheral area following the reduced volume space as the second spare area.

  According to the information recording medium of the present invention, the volume space where user data can be recorded is configured such that the second spare area can be additionally arranged. As a result, the spare area can be dynamically expanded in accordance with the frequency of occurrence of defective sectors. As a result, even if a defective sector occurs more than expected, the reliability of data recording can be ensured without performing initialization processing or reformatting processing.

  Further, since the spare area can be expanded according to the occurrence frequency of defective sectors, user data can be recorded to the maximum extent in the logical volume space.

  When data is recorded in an area to be secured as an additional spare area, the additional spare area can be arranged after the data is moved to another area. Thereby, the freedom degree of the area | region which can arrange | position an additional spare area | region can be raised.

  The information recording medium of the present invention includes a first spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective sector, a defect management information area that manages replacement of a defective sector with a spare sector, and a volume space in which user data can be recorded.

  The volume space is configured such that a second spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective sector can be additionally arranged. When all the spare sectors included in the first spare area prepared in advance by the replacement process of the defective sector are consumed, a part of the volume space can be used as the second spare area. As described above, by additionally arranging the second spare area as necessary, even when a defective sector is generated more than expected by the optical disk manufacturer, it is possible to guarantee the defect free of the optical disk. .

  Position information indicating the position of the second spare area is recorded in the defect management information area.

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

  The first embodiment is an embodiment in which the second spare area is arranged inside the volume space by updating the file structure. The second embodiment is an embodiment in which the second spare area is arranged outside the volume space by updating the volume structure and the file structure.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the information recording / reproducing system 1a according to the embodiment of the present invention. The information recording / reproducing system 1a records information on an information recording medium and reproduces information recorded on the information recording medium. The information recording medium may be any type of rewritable optical disk such as a DVD-RAM.

  In the following description, it is assumed that the information recording medium is a rewritable optical disk capable of recording and reproducing a file managed using the file structure defined in the ECMA167 standard in units of sectors. Hereinafter, such a rewritable optical disc is abbreviated as an optical disc.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the information recording / reproducing system 1 a includes a system control device 200 and an optical disk drive device 204. The system control device 200 and the optical disk drive device 204 are connected to each other via the I / O bus 203.

  The system control device 200 includes a system control unit 201 that processes file structure information, and a memory circuit 202. The system control unit 201 can be realized by, for example, a microprocessor including a control program and a calculation memory.

  The system control unit 201 performs a file structure processing unit 211 that executes bitmap processing for managing an unallocated area in the logical volume space, and a spare for checking whether an area to be secured as an additional spare area is already used. An extended area detection unit 212, a file movement processing unit 213 that secures an additional spare area by moving a file recorded in an area to be secured as an additional spare area, and an additional spare area From the execution result for the Write command, the spare area expansion determining unit 215 for determining whether or not to expand the spare area based on the remaining spare area, and the execution result for the Write command. Sometimes a command state that recognizes whether a defective sector has been detected or not. It includes a task processing unit 216, and a spare extension area instruction section 217 instructs the spare area which extends in the optical disc drive device 204 to update the defect management information.

  The memory circuit 202 includes a file structure memory 221, a bitmap memory 222, a data memory 223, and a spare area information memory that stores information indicating the remaining spare area and information indicating the position of the spare area. 224.

  The optical disk drive device 204 includes a drive control unit 205 that performs defect management processing and data recording / reproduction control on the optical disk, and a memory circuit 206. The drive control unit 205 can be realized by, for example, a microprocessor including a control program and a calculation memory.

  The drive control unit 205 includes a spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 that reports the size of an area that can be replaced in the spare area, and a spare area allocation unit 232 that updates defect management information in accordance with the spare area expansion instruction from the system control device 200. The spare area remaining amount detecting unit 233 for detecting a spare area that can be replaced in the spare area from the replacement entry in the defect management information area, and assigning the defective sector detected at the time of data recording to the spare sector of the spare area, and recording the data in the spare sector A defective sector processing unit 234, a data recording control unit 235 that controls recording of data on the optical disc, and a data reproduction control unit 236 that controls reproduction of data from the optical disc.

  The memory circuit 206 includes a defect management information memory 241 for storing defect management information and a data memory 242.

  Hereinafter, the formatting process for the optical disc of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disc after the formatting process.

  The data recording area 100 includes a plurality of sectors. A PSN is assigned to each of the plurality of sectors.

  The data recording area 100 includes a defect management information area 101, a first spare area 102, and a volume space 100a.

  Defect management information 130 is recorded in the defect management information area 101. The defect management information 130 includes an SDL descriptor 131 for recognizing SDL information, a spare area full flag 132, position information 133 indicating the position of the second spare area 108, and that a defective sector is replaced with a spare sector. # 1 alternative entry 134 shown.

  The spare area full flag 132 includes a first full flag 138 for the first spare area 102 and a second full flag 139 for the second spare area 108. The first full flag 138 indicates whether there is no spare sector available in the first spare area 102. When the second full flag 139 is reset, it indicates that there is a spare sector that can be used in the second spare area 108, and when it is set, there is no spare sector that can be used in the second spare area 108, Alternatively, it indicates that the second spare area 108 is not arranged.

  Hereinafter, the position information 133 indicating the position of the second spare area 108 is abbreviated as “second spare area position information 133”. The position information 133 of the second spare area is represented by, for example, the PSN of the first sector included in the second spare area 108 and the PSN of the last sector included in the second spare area 108.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the second spare area is not yet arranged on the data recording area 100. In this case, the position information 133 of the second spare area has a value (for example, a NULL value) indicating that “the second spare area is not yet arranged on the data recording area 100”.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the number of alternative entries included in the defect management information 130 is one. The defect management information 130 may include a number of replacement entries equal to the number of spare sectors replacing the defective sector. Therefore, when the number of spare sectors substituting for defective sectors is N, the defect management information 130 includes # 1 to #N replacement entries. Here, N is an arbitrary integer. Each of # 1 to #N replacement entries includes position information 136 indicating the position of the defective sector and position information 137 indicating the position of a spare sector that replaces the defective sector. Each of the positional information 136 and 137 is represented by, for example, PSN.

  The size of the first spare area 102 is fixed. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the first spare area 102 includes three spare sectors 110 to 112, # 1 spare sector to # 3 spare sector. Each of the spare sectors 110 to 112 is used to replace a defective sector. The number of spare sectors included in the first spare area 102 is not limited to three. The first spare area 102 may include any number of spare sectors.

  The volume space 100a is arranged immediately after the first spare area 102, and is defined as an area where user data can be recorded. A logical sector number is assigned to each sector included in the volume space 100a. The volume space 100a includes a volume structure area 103, a logical volume space 100b, and a volume structure area 109.

  FIG. 3 shows the format processing procedure. The formatting process is executed by the system control device 200 and the optical disk drive device 204.

  The format process includes steps S301 to S307 shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the numbers beginning with S described with the arrows indicate recording operations corresponding to the steps shown in FIG.

  When the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive 204, the defect management information 130 is read from the defect management information area 101. The defect management information 130 is stored in the defect management information memory 241.

  The defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 is referred to by the spare remaining amount reporting unit 231 and the spare area remaining amount detecting unit 233 as described later.

  The spare area remaining amount detecting unit 233 recognizes the position information of the first and second spare areas and the usage status of the first and second spare areas (step S301). The use status of each spare area is recognized, for example, by searching for an alternative entry having address information (for example, a physical sector number) of the smallest spare sector among the alternative entries recorded in the defect management information area 101. .

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits a Get Spare Info command to the optical disc drive 204 to inquire about spare area information (step S302).

  The spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 reports spare area information to the system control device 200 based on the defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 (step S303). The spare area information includes position information 133 indicating the position of the second spare area. The spare area information is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

  The file structure processing unit 211 executes a volume structure / basic file structure creation process, and transmits a write command and data to the optical disc drive 204 (step S304). The data is temporarily stored in the file structure memory 221 and then transferred from the file structure memory 221 to the data memory 242.

  The data recording control unit 235 records the data stored in the data memory 242 from the beginning of the volume space 100a (that is, the sector to which LSN: 0 is assigned) (step S305). As a result, the volume structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 are arranged from the head of the volume space 100a.

  Although not shown in FIG. 4, in the volume structure area 103, a start point volume descriptor pointer, a volume descriptor string, a file set descriptor, a file entry of a stream directory, and a stream directory are recorded.

  The basic file structure area 104 includes a space bitmap area 113, a file entry area 114, a root directory area 115, and a file entry area 116.

  A space bitmap is recorded in the space bitmap area 113. The space bitmap is a bit string indicating the unallocated status of each sector in the logical volume space 100b. By referring to the space bitmap, the usage status of each sector in the logical volume space 100b can be checked.

  In the file entry area 114, position information and management information of the root directory area 115 are recorded.

  In the root directory area 115, the name of the file arranged under the root directory and the position information of the file entry of each file are recorded.

  In the file entry area 116, a file entry designated from the system stream directory is recorded. By this file entry, the position information of the stream of the second spare area registered in the system stream directory is managed. This file entry includes a descriptor tag 141 for identifying the file entry, a file attribute 142, and position information 143 indicating the position of the second spare area 108.

  Hereinafter, the position information 143 indicating the position of the second spare area 108 is abbreviated as “second spare area position information 143”. The position information 143 of the second spare area is represented by, for example, the LSN of the leading sector included in the second spare area 108 and the size of the second spare area 108.

  In the formatting process, information equivalent to the position information 133 of the second spare area included in the defect management information 130 is recorded in the file entry area 116 as the position information 143 of the second spare area. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the position information 133 of the second spare area has a NULL value as described above. Therefore, the position information 143 of the second spare area also has a NULL value.

  Whether or not the data transmitted from the system controller 200 is correctly recorded in the volume structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 is read out from the recorded data, and the read data and the transmitted data (that is, And data stored in the data memory 242). Such a determination is made by the defective sector processing unit 234.

  For example, when the data transmitted from the system control apparatus 200 is not correctly recorded in the root directory area 115, the root directory area 115 is detected as a defective sector. In this case, the defective sector processing unit 234 replaces the root directory area 115 with a spare sector having the largest address among usable spare sectors included in the first spare area 102 (that is, # 1 spare sector 112). As a result, data to be recorded in the root directory area 115 is recorded in the # 1 spare sector 112 of the first spare area 102. Further, the defective sector processing unit 234 generates a # 1 replacement entry 134 indicating that the root directory area 115 is replaced with the # 1 spare sector 112, and stores the # 1 replacement entry 134 in the defect management information memory 241 ( Step S306).

  The defective sector processing unit 234 records the updated defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 (step S307). Such recording is performed immediately after step S306 or when there is no data recording instruction from the system control device 200 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds).

  In this way, in the optical disc formatting process, information equivalent to the position information 133 of the second spare area recorded in the defect management information area 101 is recorded in the basic file structure area 104 as the information information 143 of the second spare area. Is done. By performing the above-described formatting process on a used optical disk, the used optical disk can be reused. This is because the information of the second spare area is stored in the defect management information area 101 even if all the information in the volume space 100a is erased.

  Note that the position information 143 of the second spare area is managed by the system controller 200, and the position information 133 of the second spare area is managed by the optical disk drive 204. These position information 143 and 133 must always be matched. A countermeasure method when the information 143 and 133 do not match and a method for matching the position information 143 and 133 will be described later.

  A data recording process for recording a file named File-a under the root directory of the formatted optical disk will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disc after the data recording process.

  FIG. 5 shows the procedure of the data recording process. The data recording process is executed by the system control device 200 and the optical disk drive device 204.

  The data recording process includes steps S401 to S417 shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, numbers starting with “S” written together with arrows indicate recording operations corresponding to the steps shown in FIG. 5.

  When the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive device 204, the same defect management information processing as that during the formatting process is executed as the startup processing of the optical disc drive device 204 (step S401).

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits a Read command to the optical disk drive 204 as a startup process of the system control apparatus 200 (step S402).

  The data reproduction control unit 236 reproduces the volume structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 according to the address specified by the Read command, and transfers the reproduced data to the file structure memory 221 (step S403).

  The file structure processing unit 211 analyzes the volume structure and the basic file structure based on the data transferred to the file structure memory 221. As a result, the file structure processing unit 211 recognizes the logical volume space 100a based on the data reproduced from the volume structure area 103, and determines the position of the unallocated area 107 based on the data reproduced from the space bitmap area 113. The size is recognized, the directory structure is recognized based on the data reproduced from the root directory area 115, and the position information 143 of the second spare area is recognized based on the data reproduced from the file entry area 116 (step S402). .

  The file structure processing unit 211 creates data of a file having the name File-a and stores the data in the data memory 223. In addition, the file structure processing unit 211 creates file entry data and stores the data in the file structure memory 221. The file structure processing unit 211 transmits the Write command and each data to the optical disc drive 204 (step S404). The Write command is used to instruct the optical disc drive 204 to record each data at the address of the unallocated area 107 recognized in step S402.

  The data stored in the data memory 223 and the data stored in the file structure memory 221 are transferred to the data memory 242. The data recording control unit 235 records each data transferred to the data memory 242 in the data area 105 and the file structure area 106 in accordance with the address specified by the Write command (step S405).

  The defective sector processing unit 234 performs substitution processing by the same method as described in the format processing. For example, assume that sector b (sector 118) shown in FIG. 1 is detected as a defective sector. In this case, the defective sector processing unit 234 records the data to be recorded in the defective sector 118 in the # 2 spare sector 111 of the first spare area 102, indicating that the defective sector 118 has been replaced with the # 2 spare sector 111 # The second alternative entry 135 is generated, and the # 2 alternative entry 135 is stored in the defect management information memory 241 (step S406).

  In order to register a file (File-a) under the root directory, it is necessary to update the data recorded in the root directory area 115. The file structure processing unit 211 transmits a write command and data to the optical disc drive 204 (step S407).

  The data recording control unit 235 refers to the # 1 alternative entry 134, converts the root directory area 115 address specified by the Write command into the address of the # 1 spare sector 112, and converts the data transmitted from the system control device 200 to # Recording is performed in one spare sector 112 (step S408).

  The spare area expansion determination unit 215 determines whether or not the first spare area 102 needs to be expanded based on the usage status of the first spare area 102. There are various methods for this determination. Details of these various methods will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  Here, an example of the determination method will be described. For example, the spare area expansion determination unit 215 transmits a Get Event Status Notification command to the optical disc drive 204. This command is used to inquire about the usage status of the first spare area 102. In response to this inquiry, when insufficient information indicating that the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 is smaller than a predetermined size (for example, 1 MB) is reported from the optical disk drive device 204, the spare area expansion determination unit 215 Then, it is determined that the first spare area 102 needs to be expanded (step S409).

  The spare area remaining amount detection unit 233 responds to the command transmitted from the system control apparatus 200 in step S409, based on the information of the alternative entry stored in the defect management information memory 241. When the remaining amount (for example, the number of spare sectors that can be replaced in the first spare area 102) is calculated and the remaining amount is smaller than a predetermined size, the remaining spare amount is reported to the system controller 200. The report unit 231 is instructed. The spare remaining amount report unit 231 reports the shortage information to the system control device 200 (step S410).

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, the defective sector 118 is detected when data is recorded in the data area 105, and the # 2 spare sector 111 is used to replace the defective sector 118. Accordingly, the spare sector that can be replaced in the first spare area 102 is only the # 3 spare sector 110. In this state, if one defective sector occurs, the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 is exhausted and further replacement processing cannot be performed. Therefore, the spare remaining amount report unit 231 reports the shortage information to the system control device 200.

  In order to expand the first spare area 102, it is necessary to update the file entry area 116, the position information 133 indicating the position of the second spare area 108, and the space bitmap area 113.

  The system control device 200 recognizes the unallocated area 107 based on the data reproduced from the space bitmap area 113 and secures an area to be reserved as an additional spare area (that is, an area where the second spare area 108 is arranged). decide. The system control device 200 updates the data stored in the file structure memory 221 to register the spare area to be expanded in the file entry area 116, and the sector of the area where the second spare area 108 is allocated has been allocated. The data stored in the bitmap memory 222 is updated so that

  The system control device 200 transmits the write command and data for the file entry area 116 stored in the file structure memory 221 to the optical disc drive device 204 (step S411).

  The optical disc drive 204 updates the file entry area 116 by recording the data transmitted from the system control apparatus 200 in the file entry area 116 (step S412).

  The system control apparatus 200 transmits the Alloc Spare command and data for updating the position information 133 of the second spare area to the optical disc drive 204 (step S413).

  The optical disc drive 204 updates the second spare area position information 133 stored in the defect management information memory 241 based on the data transmitted from the system controller 200 (step S414).

  By the processing in steps S412 and S414, the second spare area 108 becomes effective as a spare area added in the optical disc drive 204. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the second spare area 108 includes # 4 spare sector 122 to # 6 spare sector 120. The number of spare sectors included in the second spare area 108 is not limited to three. The second spare area 108 may include any number of spare sectors.

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits the data for the space bitmap area 113 stored in the file structure memory 221 to the optical disc drive 204 (step S415).

  The data recording control unit 235 updates the space bitmap area 113 by recording the data transmitted from the system control device 200 in the space bitmap area 113 (step S416).

  The defective sector processing unit 234 records the data stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 by the method described in the format processing example (step S417).

  In this way, in the data recording process for recording a file on the optical disc, the first spare area 102 is expanded based on the usage status of the first spare area 102 (that is, the second spare area 108 is additionally arranged). be able to. Thereby, the reliability of data recording can be improved without performing initialization processing.

  When recording a file on the optical disc, the file structure processing unit 211 may determine a position where data can be recorded in order from a sector having a small LSN. As described above, since data is preferentially recorded from the inner circumference side of the optical disk, it becomes difficult to record data in the area where the second spare area is expanded. Therefore, the spare area can be easily expanded without moving the file. can do.

  In the above-described embodiment, the optical disk including the first spare area has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to an optical disk that does not have the first spare area. For example, when there is no defective sector, the second spare area is not arranged, and the second spare area may be additionally arranged when the defective sector occurs. Such a defect management method can provide the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment.

  Next, a method for determining whether or not the first spare area 102 needs to be expanded will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c). This method can also be applied when determining whether or not the second spare area 108 needs to be expanded.

  FIGS. 6A to 6C are protocol charts showing a processing procedure for determining whether or not the first spare area 102 needs to be expanded. This process is executed by the optical disk drive device 204 and the system control device 200.

  FIG. 6A shows processing when an optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive 204.

  When the optical disk is inserted into the optical disk drive 204, the file structure processing unit 211 reproduces the volume structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 as described above, and the reproduced data is stored in the file structure memory 221. The data reproduction control unit 236 is instructed to transfer (step S402 in FIG. 5).

  The file structure processing unit 211 analyzes the basic file structure based on the data transferred to the file structure memory 221. As a result, the file structure processing unit 211 calculates the size of the recordable area in the logical volume space 100b based on the data reproduced from the space bitmap area 113. The size of this area is calculated, for example, by summing the number of sectors in the unallocated area 107. The calculation result is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits a Get Spare Info command to the optical disc drive 204 in order to inquire about the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 (step S601).

  The spare area remaining amount detecting unit 233 calculates the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 (for example, the number of substituting spare sectors in the first spare area 102) by the method described in the format process, and the spare remaining amount reporting unit 231. Reports the calculation result to the system controller 200 (step S602). Information indicating the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

  The spare area expansion determination unit 215 calculates the ratio (A / B) of the remaining amount (A) of the first spare area 102 to the size (B) of the recordable area in the logical volume space 100a, and the ratio (A / B) If B) is smaller than a predetermined ratio (for example, 0.5%), it is determined that the first spare area 102 should be expanded (step S603).

  The determination process shown in FIG. 6A is performed when an optical disc is inserted prior to data recording. This determination process is characterized in that the procedure of the determination process is simple and the determination process is easy to implement.

  FIG. 6B shows processing at the time of file recording. In the process shown in FIG. 6B, when a file is recorded on the optical disc, it is determined whether or not the first spare area 102 needs to be expanded prior to recording the file. Such a determination is made based on the size of data to be recorded and the remaining amount of the first spare area 102.

  The file structure processing unit 211 stores data to be recorded on the optical disk in the data memory 223 and calculates the size of the data. The calculation result is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

  The file structure processing unit 211 sends a Get Event Status Notification command to the optical disk drive 204 to inquire about the usage status of the first spare area 102 (step S604).

  The spare area remaining amount detection unit 233 calculates the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 by the method described in the format process. When the remaining amount of the first spare area 102 is smaller than a predetermined size (for example, 1 MB), the spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 sends shortage information indicating that the first spare area 102 is insufficient to the system controller 200. (Step S605). The shortage information is stored in the spare area information memory 224.

  The spare area expansion determination unit 215 determines whether or not the first spare area 102 should be expanded based on the size of data to be recorded and the shortage information (step S606). For example, when the size of data to be recorded is larger than the remaining amount of the first spare area 102, the spare area expansion determination unit 215 determines that the first spare area 102 should be expanded.

  Since the determination process shown in FIG. 6B can secure a spare area corresponding to the size of the file to be recorded, under the assumption that the frequency of occurrence of defective sectors is substantially constant, It has a feature that it can reasonably guarantee the recording of data.

  FIG. 6C shows processing at the time of data transfer.

  When a file is recorded on an optical disk, the file data is divided into a plurality of data portions. For example, when data having a size of 1 MB is recorded on an optical disc, the data is divided into a plurality of data portions every 32 kB.

  A Write command is issued for each of the plurality of data portions. As a result, each of the plurality of data portions is transferred from the system control device 200 to the optical disc drive device 204.

  In the process shown in FIG. 6C, it is determined whether or not the first spare area 102 should be expanded every time the data portion is transferred.

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits a Write command to each of the plurality of data portions to the optical disc drive 204 (step S607).

  The data recording control unit 235 records the data portion transmitted from the system control device 200 in a predetermined sector, and when a defective sector is detected, the defective sector processing unit 234 performs a replacement process for the defective sector.

  The spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 reports Status information indicating the execution result for the Write command to the system control device 200 when the recording process of the plurality of data portions is completed (Step S608). The Status information includes information indicating the number of defective sectors that have occurred during data transfer.

  The command status processing unit 216 receives Status information from the optical disk drive 204 and stores information indicating the number of defective sectors generated during data transfer in the spare area information memory 224. The spare area expansion determination unit 215 determines whether or not a defective sector has occurred during data transfer based on information stored in the spare area information memory 224. If a defective sector has occurred, It is determined that the first spare area 102 should be expanded by the number of defective sectors (step S609).

  The determination process shown in FIG. 6C has a feature that the recordable area of the optical disc can be used effectively. This is because the spare area can be expanded every time a defective sector is detected, so that the size of the area allocated as the spare area can be reduced.

  In the determination process described above, the form in which the spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 reports the spare area remaining amount to the system control apparatus 200 can take any form. For example, the remaining amount of the spare area may be represented by a flag format or a remaining value format.

  Next, a method for expanding the first spare area 102 and the second spare area 108 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a protocol chart showing a procedure of processing for expanding the first spare area 102 and the second spare area 108. This process is executed by the optical disk drive device 204 and the system control device 200.

  When the spare area expansion determination unit 215 determines that the first spare area 102 (or the second spare area 108) should be expanded, the spare expansion area detection unit 212 stores the file in the file structure memory 221. Based on the position information 143 of the second spare area, an area to be secured as an additional spare area is determined (step S701).

  When the second spare area 108 is assigned for the first time, the second spare area 108 can be assigned to any area in the logical volume space 100b. However, when continuous data having a large file size such as audio video data (AV data) is recorded on the optical disc, it is necessary to secure a wider continuous unallocated area 107. Therefore, when the second spare area 108 is allocated for the first time, it is desirable that the second spare area 108 is allocated from the end of the logical volume space 100a.

  Spare sectors included in the second spare area 108 are used in the order of a spare sector to which a large LSN is allocated to a spare sector to which a small LSN is allocated. That is, the defective sector is replaced with the spare sector in descending order of the LSN assigned to the spare sector.

  When the second spare area 108 is expanded, the second spare area 108 is expanded in the direction in which the LSN becomes smaller. When the second spare area 108 is expanded, the area reserved as the additional spare area may be an area that is continuous with the second spare area 108 or an area that is separated from the second spare area 108. There may be.

  Based on the space bitmap information stored in the bitmap memory 222, the file structure processing unit 211 determines whether or not the area to be secured as an additional spare area is in an unallocated state (step S702). If it is in an unallocated state, the process proceeds to step S704. If it is not in an unallocated state, the process proceeds to step S704 via step S703. This is because if an area to be secured as an additional spare area is not unallocated (that is, data has already been recorded in that area), the data is moved to another location, and then This is because the area needs to be an additional spare area.

  The file movement processing unit 213 executes file movement processing (step S703). That is, the file movement processing unit 213 checks all file structures on the optical disc and specifies data recorded in the area. Next, the file movement processing unit 213 uses the space bitmap information to search for an area where data already recorded can be moved to an area to be secured as an additional spare area, and the attribute of the data The data is moved in accordance with the attribute of the file, and the file structure information managing the moved data is updated (step S703). In this way, an additional spare area is secured.

  Although not shown in FIG. 7, the spare expansion area allocation unit 214 instructs the optical disk drive device 204 to check whether or not there is a defective sector in an area to be secured as an additional spare area. . If there is a defective sector in the area, the spare expansion area allocation unit 214 instructs the spare expansion area detection unit 212 to increase the size of the additional spare area, and returns the process control to step S701. Accordingly, the process is executed again from step S701.

  When there is no defective sector in the area to be secured as the additional spare area, the spare expansion area allocation unit 214 updates the write command and the data for updating the file entry area 116 stored in the file structure memory 221. Is transmitted to the optical disk drive 204 (step S704).

  The data recording control unit 235 records the data transmitted from the system control device 200 in the file entry area 116 (step S705). As a result, the position information 143 of the second spare area recorded in the file entry area 116 is updated.

  The spare expansion area instruction unit 217 instructs to expand the spare area using the Alloc Spare command. Specifically, the spare expansion area instruction unit 217 transmits the Alloc Spare command and data for updating the position information 133 of the second spare area to the optical disk drive 204 (step S706).

  The data recording control unit 235 updates the position information 133 of the second spare area stored in the defect management information memory 241 based on the data transmitted from the system control device 200 (step S707).

  In this way, if some data is recorded in the area to be reserved as the additional spare area, it is recorded in the area to be reserved as the additional spare area by analyzing the file structure information. Existing data is moved to another area. Thereby, even when data is recorded in an area where the spare area is to be expanded, the spare area can be expanded.

  When a defective sector exists in an area to be secured as an additional spare area, the size of the additional spare area is increased according to the number of defective sectors. As a result, a spare area having a required size can be ensured.

  Next, a countermeasure method in the case where the position information 143 of the second spare area managed by the system control device 200 and the position information 133 of the second spare area managed by the optical disc drive device 204 are not consistent, and these Will be described.

  In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the sector a (sector 117) in the data area 105 is detected as a defective sector, and the defective sector 117 is replaced with the # 4 spare sector 122. In this case, the # 4 spare sector 122 is designated by two LSNs. The first LSN is an LSN assigned in order from the beginning of the volume space 100a (here, LSN = n). The second LSN is an LSN assigned to the replacement-source defective sector 117 (here, LSN = m).

  If the position information 143 of the second spare area managed by the system control apparatus 200 and the position information 133 of the second spare area managed by the optical disc drive device 204 do not match, the system control apparatus 200 May issue a Write command to a sector whose LSN is n. When this recording operation is executed, the data recorded in the # 4 spare sector 122 is overwritten. As a result, the data of the file named File-a is destroyed.

  In order to avoid a fatal problem that the data of the file is destroyed, the optical disk drive 204 refers to the position information 133 of the second spare area and recognizes the sector included in the second spare area 108. . When it is requested to record data in a sector included in the second spare area 108, the optical disc drive 204 prohibits a recording request for the second spare area 108 without performing a recording operation corresponding to the request. Is reported to the system control apparatus 200. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the file data from being destroyed due to the fact that the position information 133 of the second spare area and the position information 143 of the second spare area are not matched.

  Further, when the system control apparatus 200 receives the error information, the system control apparatus 200 may execute a process for matching the position information 133 of the second spare area and the position information 143 of the second spare area. preferable. For example, as described in the format process, the system control apparatus 200 acquires the position information 133 of the second spare area based on the information reproduced from the defect management information area 101, and the file entry based on the position information 133 The position information 143 of the second spare area recorded in the area 116 is updated, and the space bitmap information stored in the bitmap memory 222 is updated based on the position information 143. .

  As described in the process of expanding the spare area before updating the position information 143 of the second spare area, the area newly registered in the file entry as the second spare area 108 is used for purposes other than the spare area. It is preferable to confirm that it is not used. Such confirmation can be made by examining all file structures.

  The example of the mismatch between the position information 133 and 143 described above is that the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the file entry area 116 is the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the defect management information area 101. This is an example of a larger case.

  On the other hand, even if the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the defect management information area 101 is smaller than the size of the second spare area 108 recorded in the file entry area 116, the location information 133, 143 is not valid. Alignment can be detected and position information 133 and 143 can be matched.

  For example, the system control apparatus 200 acquires the position information 133 based on the data reproduced from the basic file structure area 104 as the activation process of the system control apparatus 200, and acquires the position information 143 by inquiring the spare area information. You just have to do it. By comparing the position information 133 and the position information 143, mismatch between the position information 133 and 143 can be detected.

  When a mismatch between the position information 133 and 143 is detected, the system control apparatus 200 instructs the optical disc drive apparatus 204 to correctly update the position information of the second spare area using the Alloc Spare command.

(Embodiment 2)
In the second embodiment, an example in which the second spare area 108 is arranged outside the volume space 100a will be described.

  In the second embodiment, an information recording / reproducing system 1b is used. The configuration of the information recording / reproducing system 1b is the same as that of the information recording / reproducing system 1a shown in FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted here.

  Each of the system control device 200 and the optical disk drive device 204 is connected to the I / O bus 203 via a SCSI or ATAPI interface. Commands and data are exchanged between the system control device 200 and the optical disk drive device 204.

  Note that the system control device 200 and the optical disc drive device 204 may be a single unit formed integrally. In this case, the interface between the system control device 200 and the optical disk drive device 204 may be a simplified dedicated interface.

  FIG. 8 shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disc according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, reference number 181 indicates the state of the optical disc after the formatting process, reference number 182 indicates the state of the optical disc after the data recording process for recording a file having the name File-a on the optical disc, and reference number Reference numeral 183 denotes the state of the optical disc after the data recording process for recording the file having the name File-b on the optical disc.

  FIG. 9 is a protocol chart showing a procedure of data recording processing for recording a file on an optical disc.

  The data recording process shown in FIG. 9 includes a step S807 for calculating the spare area usage status, a step S809 for determining an additional arrangement of the spare area based on the calculated usage status, and securing a part of the volume space as a spare area. Step S811 and step S817 for registering a spare area. These steps are the same as the data recording processing steps described in the first embodiment.

  A data recording process for recording a file (File-a) on the optical disk when the optical disk is in the state indicated by reference numeral 181 in FIG. 8 will be described below. By this data recording process, the state of the optical disk changes from the state indicated by reference numeral 181 in FIG. 8 to the state indicated by reference numeral 182 in FIG. By this data recording process, the second spare area 153 is newly arranged. The state of the optical disk indicated by reference numeral 181 is the same as the state of the optical disk shown in FIG.

  When the optical disk is inserted into the optical disk drive device 204, the spare area remaining amount detecting unit 233 acquires information indicating the usage status of the first spare area 102 as the activation process of the optical disk drive apparatus 204 (step S801).

  For example, the spare area remaining amount detection unit 233 can acquire information indicating the usage status of the first spare area 102 by referring to the spare area full flag 132. The setting of the first full flag 138 indicates that all the spare sectors in the first spare area 102 are used (that is, there is no spare sector that can be replaced in the first spare area 102).

  In the first spare area 102, the spare sector to which the larger physical sector number is assigned is used in order. That is, defective sectors are replaced with spare sectors in descending order of physical sector numbers assigned to the spare sectors. Note that the order in which such spare sectors are used is the same in the second spare area 108.

  The spare area remaining amount detection unit 233 searches for an alternative entry having the position information (for example, physical sector number) of the smallest spare sector among the alternative entries recorded in the defect management information area 101, and the searched alternative entry Information indicating the usage status of the first spare area 102 may be acquired based on the position information of the spare sector inside. That is, the spare area remaining amount detecting unit 233 can know the amount of spare sectors that can be used in the first spare area 102 from the position information of the spare sector in the searched alternative entry and the size of the first spare area 102. . In the example shown in FIG. 8, the size of the first spare area 102 is set in advance. Therefore, the spare area remaining amount detecting unit 233 can know the amount of spare sectors that can be used in the first spare area 102 from the position information of the spare sectors in the searched alternative entry.

  As described above, the information indicating the usage status of the first spare area 102 may be the first full flag 138 or the amount of available spare sectors in the first spare area 102.

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits a Read command to the optical disk drive 204 as a startup process of the system control apparatus 200 (step S802).

  The data reproduction control unit 236 reproduces the data recorded in the volume structure area 103 and the basic file structure area 104 in accordance with the address specified by the Read command, and returns the reproduced data to the system control device 200 (step). S803).

  The file structure processing unit 211 receives the reproduced data from the optical disk drive 204, and analyzes the basic file structure based on the reproduced data (step S802).

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits the Write command and file (File-a) data to the optical disc drive 204 (step S804).

  The data recording control unit 235 records the data transmitted from the system control device 200 in the data area 105 and the file structure area 106 (step S805).

  If a defective sector is detected in the data recording process in step S805, the defective sector processing unit 234 performs an alternative process of substituting the defective sector with a spare sector in the first spare area 102 (step S806).

  The spare area remaining amount detection unit 233 acquires information indicating the usage status of the first spare area 102 from the information in the defect management information memory 241 updated in step S806 (step S807).

  When the first spare area 102 is depleted, the spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 notifies the system controller 200 of information indicating that the first spare area 102 has been depleted (step S810). Such notification is made, for example, by returning “Recovered Error” to the system control apparatus 200 as Status information for the Write command transmitted in step S804.

  The spare area expansion determination unit 215 recognizes that the first spare area 102 has been exhausted via the command status processing unit 216, reduces the volume space 100a, and sets the second spare area in the outermost area of the data recording area 100. It is decided to allocate 153 (step S809). Since the second spare area is arranged in the largest PSN area in the data recording area 100, the position information 133 of the second spare area is, for example, only by the PSN of the first sector included in the second spare area 108. expressed.

  The spare expansion area allocation unit 214 uses the Read command and the Write command to reduce the volume space 100a and secure an area for allocating the second spare area 153 to the outer peripheral area following the volume space 100a. The optical disk drive 204 is instructed to update the structure areas 103 and 109 and the basic file structure area 104 (step S811).

  The data recording control unit 235 and the data reproduction control unit 236 update the volume structure areas 103 and 109 and the basic file structure area 104 in accordance with these commands (step S812).

  Details of the update processing shown in steps S811 and 812 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The spare expansion area instruction unit 217 instructs the optical disk drive device 204 to register the newly reserved area as the second spare area 153 using the Alloc Spare command (step S813). Note that a Format Unit command may be used instead of the Alloc Spare command.

  The spare area allocation unit 232 recognizes that the second spare area is not allocated by using the position information 133 of the second spare area stored in the defect management information memory 241 and recognizes the Alloc Spare command (or Based on the Format Unit command), the location information 133 of the second spare area stored in the defect management information memory 241 is updated so as to be newly assigned to the second spare area 153, and the second spare area 153 The second full flag 139 is reset (step S814). Since the second spare area 153 is arranged outside the volume space 100a, the sector in the second spare area 153 has no LSN.

  The defective sector processing unit 234 records the updated defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 (step S817). Such recording is performed immediately after step S813 or when there is no data recording instruction from the system control device 200 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds).

  As described above, the optical disk drive device 204 and the system control device 200 cooperate with each other, and the second spare area 153 is additionally arranged, whereby the reliability of data recording can be improved.

  The second spare area 153 may be arranged in an area away from the first spare area 102 or may be arranged in an area continuous with the first spare area 102.

  For example, the second spare area 153 is arranged in an area including a sector to which a physical sector number larger than the sector of the first spare area 102 is assigned. When the second spare area 153 includes a plurality of spare sectors, the defective sector is replaced with a corresponding one of the plurality of spare sectors in descending order of the physical sector numbers assigned to the plurality of spare sectors.

  Furthermore, as indicated by reference numeral 182 in FIG. 8, the volume space 100a includes the volume structure area 103, the basic file structure area 104, and the data area (File-a) while retaining the files already recorded on the optical disk. ) 105, a file structure area (File-a) 106, an unallocated area 151, and a volume structure area 152.

  Thus, the volume space 100a is reconfigured so that the second spare area 153 is arranged outside the volume space 100a. As a result, the position information 133 of the second spare area recorded in the defect management information area 101 and the position information 143 of the second spare area recorded in the file entry area 116, as described in the first embodiment, The processing for avoiding the inconsistency is unnecessary.

  In the second embodiment, it is not necessary to record the position information of the second spare area in the basic file structure area 104. This eliminates the need for a special data structure in the file system. When the optical disk on which the second spare area is arranged is reused, it is used not only in the file system described in this embodiment but also in MS-DOS. The general-purpose FAT file system can be reused by the logical format.

  The size of the second spare area 153 can be determined according to the usage status of the first spare area 102. For example, in step S810, when the size of a spare sector that can be replaced in the first spare area 102 becomes 1 MB or less, the spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 notifies the system control unit 200 that the first spare area 102 has been exhausted. When reporting, the second spare area 153 may be allocated in units of 1 MB.

  When ECC (Error Correction Code) is configured in units of 16 sectors, one ECC block is configured of 16 sectors. At this time, the defective sector replacement process may be performed not in units of sectors but in units of ECC blocks. The substitution process in units of ECC blocks eliminates the need to calculate the ECC again, thereby simplifying the recording / reproducing system.

  Preferably, the minimum unit for expanding the second spare area may be determined in advance. For example, it may be determined that the second spare area is expanded in units of 32 ECC blocks (1 MB). In this case, the frequency of depletion of the spare area can be reduced as compared with the expansion of the spare area in units of 2 to 3 sectors. In addition, by expanding the second spare area in units of ECC blocks, it is possible to facilitate replacement processing of defective sectors in units of ECC blocks.

  The descriptors defined by ECMA 167 recorded in the volume structure area 103, the basic file structure area 104, the file structure area (File-a) 106, and the volume structure area 152 are distributed and recorded on the optical disk. Also good.

  A data recording process for recording a file (File-b) on the optical disk when the optical disk is in the state indicated by reference numeral 182 in FIG. 8 will be described below. By this data recording process, the state of the optical disk changes from the state indicated by reference numeral 182 in FIG. 8 to the state indicated by reference numeral 183 in FIG. By this data recording process, an additional spare area is arranged in an area continuous with the second spare area 153 that is already arranged. As a result, the second spare area 158 obtained by expanding the second spare area 153 is arranged.

  Thus, the second spare area 153 can be expanded in the direction in which the physical sector number decreases.

  Data recording processing for recording a file (File-b) on an optical disc is also executed along steps S801 to S817 shown in FIG.

  In addition, since the process of step S801-S803 is the same as the process mentioned above, the description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits the Write command and file (File-b) data to the optical disc drive 204 (step S804).

  The data recording control unit 235 records the data transmitted from the system control device 200 in the data area 154 and the file structure area 155 (step S805).

  If a defective sector is detected in the data recording process in step S805, the defective sector processing unit 234 performs an alternative process of substituting the defective sector with a spare sector in the second spare area 153 (step S806). An alternative entry indicating that the defective sector has been replaced with a spare sector is generated, and stored in the defect management information memory 241 before this alternative entry is recorded in the defect management information area 101. Here, when all the spare sectors in the second spare area 153 have been consumed, the defective sector processing unit 234 sets the second full flag 139 of the spare area full flag 132.

  The spare area remaining amount detection unit 233 acquires information indicating the usage status of the second spare area 153 (step S807). The method for obtaining information indicating the usage status of the second spare area 153 is the same as the method for acquiring information indicating the usage status of the first spare area 102 described above.

  When the second spare area 153 is depleted, the spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 notifies the system controller 200 of information indicating that the second spare area 153 is depleted (step S810).

  The spare area expansion determination unit 215 recognizes that the second spare area 153 has been depleted via the command status processing unit 216, and allocates a new spare area to an area continuous with the second spare area 153. Determination is made (step S809).

  The spare extended area allocation unit 214 uses the Read command and the Write command to reduce the volume space 100a and secure an area to which an additional spare area is allocated, and the volume structure areas 103 and 152, the basic file structure area 104, Is instructed to update the optical disc drive 204 (step S811).

  The data recording control unit 235 and the data reproduction control unit 236 update the volume structure areas 103 and 152 and the basic file structure area 104 in accordance with these commands (step S812).

  The spare expansion area instruction unit 217 instructs the optical disk drive 204 to register the newly reserved area and the second spare area 153 as the new second spare area 158 (step S813).

  The spare area assigning unit 232 recognizes that the second spare area 153 is assigned by using the position information 133 of the second spare area stored in the defect management information memory 241 and also uses the second full flag 139. Check. Next, the spare area allocation unit 232 updates the position information 133 of the second spare area stored in the defect management information memory 241 so as to expand the second spare area in the direction in which the physical sector number is smaller, If the second full flag 139 for the second spare area 153 is set, the second full flag 139 is reset (step S814). As a result, it is possible to use an alternative spare sector in the second spare sector 158.

  The defective sector processing unit 234 records the updated defect management information 130 stored in the defect management information memory 241 in the defect management information area 101 (step S817). Such recording is performed when there is no data recording instruction from the system control apparatus 200 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds).

  As described above, the optical disk drive device 204 and the system control device 200 cooperate with each other, so that the second spare area can be expanded according to the occurrence frequency of the defective sector.

  FIG. 10 is a protocol chart showing a procedure of processing executed when an optical disc is inserted into the optical disc drive apparatus. In this process, the usage status of the spare area is checked when the optical disk is inserted. As a result, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to allocate an additional spare area according to the usage status of the spare area.

  In the description related to FIG. 10, the “spare area” refers to the “first spare area 102”, the “second spare area 153”, or the “second spare area 158” shown in FIG. .

  The file structure processing unit 211 transmits a Get Spare Info command to the optical disc drive 204 in order to inquire about the usage status of the spare area (step S821). The file structure processing unit 211 may use a Read DVD Structure command instead of the Get Spare Info command.

  The spare area remaining amount detection unit 233 acquires information indicating the usage status of the spare area (step S807). The information indicating the usage status of the spare area includes, for example, information indicating the size of an area that can be replaced in the spare area.

  The spare remaining capacity reporting unit 231 reports information indicating the usage status of the spare area to the system control apparatus 200 (step S810).

  The spare area expansion determination unit 215 determines whether or not to allocate an additional spare area according to the usage status of the spare area. For example, if the size of the replaceable area in the spare area is equal to or smaller than a predetermined size (for example, 1 MB), the spare area expansion determination unit 215 determines to newly allocate an additional spare area (step S809). .

  The processing in steps S811 to S817 shown in FIG. 10 is the same as the processing in steps S811 to S817 shown in FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted here.

  As described above, the optical disk drive device 204 and the system control device 200 cooperate with each other, so that it is possible to allocate a spare area of an optimal size according to the usage status of the spare area before recording data.

  Hereinafter, the process of updating the volume structure areas 103 and 109 and the basic file structure area 104 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. This update process is executed by the spare expansion area allocation unit 214. In FIG. 11, numbers starting with S indicate each step of the update process.

  11, reference numerals 191 and 192 indicate the data structure of the optical disc in the state indicated by reference numerals 181 and 182 in FIG. 8 in more detail at the descriptor level defined by ECMA167.

  The volume structure area 103 is arranged on the innermost periphery of the volume space 100a. In the volume structure area 103, a main volume descriptor column 161 that defines the volume space 100a as a logical space, a logical volume integrity descriptor 162 having integrity information of the logical volume space 100a, and a read start position of the volume structure are displayed. The indicated start volume descriptor pointer 163 and the file set descriptor 164 are recorded.

  In ECMA 167, the file set descriptor is defined as a file structure. However, in the example shown in FIG. 11, for the sake of convenience, the file set descriptor is defined as a volume structure.

  The volume structure area 109 is arranged on the outermost periphery of the volume space 100a. In the volume structure area 109, a start volume descriptor pointer 165 and a secondary volume descriptor column 156 are recorded.

  The basic file structure area 104 includes a space bitmap area 113, a file entry area 114, and a root directory area 115. In the space bitmap area 113, a space bitmap for managing an unallocated area in the logical volume space 100a is recorded. In the file entry area 114, a file entry of the root directory is recorded. In the root directory area 115, root directory information is recorded.

  The spare extension area allocation unit 214 searches the size and position of the unallocated area 107 based on the information reproduced from the space bitmap area 113.

  When an unallocated area 107 larger than the size of the additional spare area to be allocated as the second spare area 153 exists at the end of the logical volume space 100a (the outermost part of the logical volume space 100a), spare extension area allocation The unit 214 updates the space bitmap 113 area so that the logical volume space 100a is reduced by the size of the additional spare area (step S101).

  If there is no unallocated area 107 larger than the size of the additional spare area, a file move process (step S703 in FIG. 7) is executed. As a result, the file data already recorded is moved to another area.

  The spare expansion area allocation unit 214 updates and moves the secondary volume descriptor string 156 and the start volume descriptor pointer 165 so that the second spare area 153 can be allocated (steps S102 and S103).

  The spare expansion area allocation unit 214 updates the main volume descriptor string 161 and the logical volume integrity descriptor 162 in order to define the reduced logical volume space (steps S104 and S105).

  Finally, the spare expansion area allocation unit 214 updates the start volume descriptor pointer 163 in order to validate the updated volume structure and the updated file structure (step S106).

  In this way, a part of the volume space 100a can be secured as an area for arranging the second spare area 153.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disk of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information recording / reproducing system 1a of embodiment of this invention. It is a protocol chart which shows the procedure of a format process. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disk after a format process. It is a protocol chart which shows the procedure of a data recording process. (A)-(c) is a protocol chart which shows the procedure of the process which determines whether it is necessary to expand the 1st spare area | region 102. FIG. 4 is a protocol chart showing a procedure of processing for expanding a first spare area and a second spare area. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data recording area 100 of the optical disk of embodiment of this invention. It is a protocol chart which shows the procedure of the data recording process which records a file on an optical disk. It is a protocol chart which shows the procedure of the process performed when an optical disk is inserted in an optical disk drive device. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which updates the volume structure area | regions 103 and 109 and the basic file structure area | region 104. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data recording area 800 of the conventional optical disk. It is a protocol chart which shows the procedure of the conventional format process and data recording process.

Explanation of symbols

101 Defect Management Information Area 102 First Spare Area 104 Basic File Structure Area 108 Second Spare Area 113 Space Bitmap Area 116 File Entry Area 132 Spare Area Full Flag 133 Second Spare Area Location Information 134, 135 Alternative Entry 143 Second Spare Area position information 200 System controller 201 System controller 202 Memory circuit 203 I / O bus 204 Optical disk drive device 205 Drive controller 206 Memory circuit 211 File structure processor 212 Spare extension area detector 213 File move processor 214 Spare extension Area allocation unit 215 Spare area expansion determination unit 216 Command status processing unit 217 Spare expansion area instruction unit 221 File structure memory 222 Bitmap memory 22 4 Spare area information memory 231 Spare remaining amount report unit 232 Spare area allocation unit 233 Spare area remaining amount detection unit 234 Defective sector processing unit 235 Data recording control unit 236 Data reproduction control unit 241 Defect management information memory

Claims (5)

An information recording medium including a plurality of sectors,
A first spare area comprising a replacement area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors;
A defect management information area in which defect management information for managing substitution from a defective area including the defective sector to a replacement area including the spare sector is recorded;
A data recording area including a volume space in which user data can be recorded;
In the data recording area, a second spare area including a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including the defective sector among the plurality of sectors can be arranged and expanded,
The defect management information area includes first information indicating whether or not the first spare area includes a spare area including a usable spare sector;
An information recording medium having an area for recording second information indicating whether or not there is an alternative area including a usable spare sector in the second spare area. An information recording method for recording information on an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors,
The information recording medium includes a first spare area including a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors;
A defect management information area in which defect management information for managing substitution from a defective area including the defective sector to a replacement area including the spare sector is recorded;
A data recording area including a volume space in which user data can be recorded;
In the data recording area, it is possible to expand a second spare area including a replacement area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors,
In the defect management information area, second information indicating whether or not there is an alternative area including a usable spare sector in the second spare area is recorded,
The information recording method includes:
(A) obtaining information indicating the usage status of the second spare area by referring to the second information;
(B) a second spare area provided with a replacement area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors in the data recording area in accordance with information indicating a use status of the second spare area; Determining whether or not to extend
(C) an information recording method including expanding the second spare area, setting a part of the volume space as the second spare area. An information recording / reproducing system for an information recording medium including a plurality of sectors,
The information recording medium includes a first spare area including a spare area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors;
A defect management information area in which defect management information for managing substitution from a defective area including the defective sector to a replacement area including the spare sector is recorded;
A data recording area including a volume space in which user data can be recorded;
In the data recording area, it is possible to expand a second spare area including a replacement area including a spare sector that replaces a defective area including a defective sector among the plurality of sectors,
In the defect management information area, second information indicating whether or not there is an alternative area including a usable spare sector in the second spare area is recorded,
The information recording / reproducing system includes:
A spare area remaining amount detection unit that acquires information indicating the usage status of the second spare area by referring to the second information, and the data recording according to the information indicating the usage status of the second spare area A spare area expansion determination unit that determines whether or not to extend a second spare area that includes a spare area that includes a spare sector that replaces a defective area that includes a defective sector among the plurality of sectors;
When expanding the second spare area, an information recording / reproducing system comprising a spare expansion area allocating unit that uses a part of the volume space as the second spare area. The step (c)
(C-1) reducing the size of the volume space;
The information recording method according to claim 2, further comprising: (c-2) securing a region on the outer peripheral side following the reduced volume space as the second spare region. The spare expansion area allocating unit
The information recording / reproducing system according to claim 3, wherein the size of the volume space is reduced, and an outer peripheral area following the reduced volume space is secured as the second spare area.

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