JP2008010041A - Recording/reproducing device and diagnostic method regarding recording medium of recording/reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such a problem that a lot of time is required to inspect all-area of a hard disk in order to predict or find failures as the storage capacity of a recording/reproducing device such as a hard disk recorder increases. <P>SOLUTION: The recording/reproducing device for recording content onto or reproducing content from a recording medium is disclosed. The recording/reproducing device performs first diagnosis regarding the recording medium during start or idling, the first diagnosis imposing loads on the recording or reproducing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus that records content on a recording medium or reproduces content from a storage medium, and a diagnostic method related to the recording medium of such a recording / reproducing apparatus.

  A so-called hard disk recorder that records and reproduces a TV program on a hard disk device is rapidly spreading. One reason for this is that the technology related to hard disk drives has advanced, and the storage capacity has changed from several hundred megabytes to several terabytes. As a result, it is virtually unnecessary to worry about the remaining storage capacity, and it has become possible to easily record TV programs.

  However, as the storage capacity increases, the possibility that a failure of the hard disk device becomes a fatal injury increases. That is, the risk of losing a huge amount of recorded television programs due to a failure of a large-capacity hard disk device is increasing. Also, a hard disk device that performs mechanical operations such as disk rotation and head seek has a higher risk of failure than other components. Therefore, a technology for predicting a failure of a hard disk device has become indispensable.

As a conventional technique for foreseeing such a failure of the hard disk device, for example, there is a method for predicting a failure of the hard disk device by performing an entire area inspection of the hard disk in a standby state (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .
JP 2006-18963 A

  However, as the capacity of the hard disk increases, it takes time to inspect the entire area of the hard disk. For example, according to Patent Document 1, it takes tens of hours to inspect the entire area of a terabyte order hard disk, and the entire area inspection of a hard disk cannot be easily performed.

  In addition, the entire hard disk area inspection only shows the status of bad sectors, but the causes of actual hard disk drive failures are more likely to be predicted by the status of bad sectors than spin-up times, seek errors, and retry counts. There are overwhelmingly many things that can be predicted by increasing the CRC error rate. Therefore, it can be said that the entire area inspection of the hard disk is useless.

  In addition, when the user uses the hard disk recorder less frequently or the hard disk recorder is always energized, there is a problem that the latest inspection result cannot be known.

  Therefore, in the present invention, there is provided a diagnostic method for a recording / reproducing apparatus and a recording medium of the recording / reproducing apparatus that can know the latest inspection result without performing a time-consuming inspection such as the entire area inspection of the hard disk. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve this object, a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording content on a recording medium or reproducing content from a recording medium, which is a diagnosis that can put a burden on the recording or reproduction, the recording medium Disclosure is made on a recording / reproducing apparatus that executes a first diagnosis, which is a diagnosis related to the start-up or idling.

  In addition, the recording / reproducing apparatus may execute a second diagnosis that is a diagnosis that does not place a burden on the recording or the reproduction.

  Further, the recording / reproducing apparatus may store the diagnosis result in a non-volatile memory other than the recording medium.

  The stored diagnostic result may be a time-dependent diagnosis result. In particular, the time-based diagnosis result indicates three time points of an initial diagnosis result of the start of use of the recording medium, a previous diagnosis result, and a current diagnosis result. It may consist of

  Further, the recording / reproducing apparatus may acquire a diagnosis result stored in the nonvolatile memory and determine the deterioration regarding the recording medium.

  Further, the recording / reproducing apparatus may control the driving of the recording medium in recording / reproducing based on the determination of deterioration.

  Further, the recording / reproducing apparatus may control the user's drive setting for recording / reproducing based on the determination of deterioration.

  According to the present invention, since the recording medium is diagnosed at the time of start-up or idling, it is possible to know the latest inspection result without performing a time-consuming inspection such as the entire area inspection of the hard disk. It is possible to provide a reproducing apparatus and a diagnostic method for a recording medium of the recording / reproducing apparatus. In addition, since the drive of the recording medium in recording / reproduction and the user's drive setting for recording / reproduction are controlled according to the degradation determined from the diagnosis result, the time until the occurrence of the failure can be postponed.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as an embodiment. In addition, this invention is not limited to these embodiment at all, and can be implemented with various aspects in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 is a recording / reproducing apparatus that records content on a recording medium or reproduces content from the recording medium, and is a diagnosis that can put a burden on the recording or reproduction, and is a diagnosis on the recording medium. A recording / reproducing apparatus that executes a certain first diagnosis at start-up or idling will be described.

(Embodiment 1: Configuration)
FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 100 includes a recording / reproducing unit 101 and a first diagnosis unit 102.

  The “recording / reproducing unit” 101 is a unit that records content on a recording medium or reproduces content from the recording medium. A “recording medium” is a medium for recording information. If the medium is mechanically driven, it includes a drive portion. The recording medium is mainly assumed to be a hard disk device that records information on a magnetic surface and reads information from the magnetic surface. “Content” is information that can be recorded on or read from a recording medium. Here, general information that can be expressed by digital signals such as television broadcasting, radio broadcasting, moving image information, music information, audio information, text information, etc. is mainly assumed. “A or B” is an expression that can include both A and B as well as either A or B.

  The “first diagnosis unit” 102 performs the first diagnosis at start-up or idling. The first diagnosis is a diagnosis related to the recording medium. Further, the first diagnosis may be a diagnosis that may put a burden on the recording or the reproduction. Here, the “recording medium” is a recording medium used by the recording / playback unit 101 to record or play back content. “Recording” and “reproduction” mean recording and reproduction of content performed by the recording / reproducing unit 101 using a recording medium, respectively. “Diagnosis” refers to determining and analyzing whether or not the device operates normally and whether or not an abnormality is predicted. “Diagnosis that can put a burden on the recording or reproduction” means a diagnosis that may affect recording or reproduction by performing the diagnosis. For example, when content is encoded or decoded using a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a part of CPU calculation resources allocated to encoding or decoding is used by the CPU also for execution of diagnosis of a recording medium. Is also assigned to diagnosis. In addition, it can be mentioned that a part of the band of information input / output with the recording medium when the content is recorded on the recording medium or reproduced from the recording medium is allocated for diagnosis.

  The first diagnosis is preferably accompanied by a process of reading some information from the recording medium and analyzing the read information. For example, Raw Read Error Rate, Througput Performance, Spin Up Time, Start / Stop Count, Reallocated Sector Count, Read Channel Margin, Seek based on the standard of SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology). Error Rate, Seek Time Performance, Power On Hours Count, Spin Retry Count, Recalibration Retries, Device Power Cycle Count, Soft Read Error Rate, G-Sense Error Rate, Power-Off Retract Cycle, Load / Unload Cycle Count, Temperature, Reallocation Events Count, Current Pending Sector Count, Uncorrectable Sector Count, UltraDMA CRC Error Rate, Write Error Rate, Disk Shift, Loaded Hours, Load / Unload Retry Count, Load Friction, Load-in Time, Torque Amplification Count, GMR Head Amplitude Output an attribute value acquisition command that includes one or more of them, get an attribute value response from the recording medium, In other words, judgment and analysis accompanying diagnosis such as whether or not the occurrence of an abnormality is foreseen may be performed. In this case, the output of the acquisition command and the attribute response are performed between the CPU and the hard disk device using the ATA standard or the like.

  “At the time of start-up” is a point in time when the recording / reproducing apparatus becomes operable by turning on the power. The meaning of operable here may include being able to record content on a recording medium or play back content from a recording medium. “At idling” refers to a point in time when the power supply to the recording / reproducing apparatus is energized and ready for operation. For example, it is the time when the user of the recording / playback apparatus presses the playback stop button or the time after that.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus whose functional block diagram is illustrated in FIG. For example, the recording / reproducing apparatus 200 includes a tuner 201, a decoder 202, a display selection unit 203, a control unit 204, an operation unit 205, a recording medium 206, a recording medium control unit 207, a recording medium 208, and a recording medium. A medium control unit 209, a recording medium 210, a recording medium control unit 211, a display unit 212, and a self-diagnosis management unit 213 are configured.

  Tuner 201 receives radio waves of content to be broadcasted and the like, and demodulates the content by a decoder. The demodulated content is output by the display selection unit 203 to a television receiver or the like connected to the outside of the recording / reproducing apparatus 200. The display selection unit 203 selects whether to output the content received by the tuner 201 or to output the content recorded on the recording medium 206 or the like. The demodulated content can be output to the control unit 204 and finally recorded on the recording media 206, 208, and 210. The control unit 204 controls the entire recording / reproducing apparatus 200. The control unit 204 can be configured to include a CPU. The operation unit 205 provides an interface for a user of the recording / reproducing apparatus 200 to perform an operation. Operations on the operation unit 205 are read and detected by the control unit 204, and the control unit 204 controls each unit according to the result of the reading and the result of the detection. For example, when an operation for recording content is performed by the operation unit 205, the control unit 204 encodes the content output from the decoder 202 and outputs the encoded content to the recording medium control unit 207, and the recording medium 206. The process of recording is performed. If an operation for reproducing the content is performed, the recording medium control unit 207 and the like are controlled to read the content recorded on the recording medium 206 and perform processing such as decoding and the like via the display unit 212. The content is output to the display selection unit 203.

  The tuner 201 is not essential. Instead of inputting the content received by the tuner, the content may be input from a personal computer or the like via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like.

  The recording media 206, 208, and 210 are recording media for recording and reproducing content as described above. For example, it may include a hard disk incorporated in the apparatus, a removable Blu-ray disk, and the like and a mechanical device necessary for driving them. The recording medium control units 207, 209, and 211 are units that control recording and reproduction of information on the recording media 206, 208, and 210. In addition to processing information to be recorded / reproduced, mechanical control such as rotation control of the hard disk or Blu-ray disk and servo control of the head is also performed. In FIG. 2, a plurality of recording media and recording medium control units are shown. The recording medium and the recording medium control unit constitute a part or the whole of the recording / reproducing unit 101 in FIG.

  The self-diagnosis management unit 213 is a unit for performing a first diagnosis on the recording media 206, 208, and 210. For example, the self-diagnosis management unit 213 causes the CPU configuring the control unit 204 to execute a program for the first diagnosis. Further, the result of the first diagnosis may be stored in a nonvolatile memory, or the result of the first diagnosis may be analyzed. Therefore, the self-diagnosis management unit 213 constitutes a part or the whole of the first diagnosis unit 102 of FIG.

(Embodiment 1: processing)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process in which the recording / reproducing apparatus performs the first diagnosis at the time of activation. When the recording / reproducing apparatus is turned on, for example, when it is activated, a monitor program or the like is read from the ROM (read-only memory) or the like by the control unit 204, and the process proceeds to step S301, where recording is performed. Processing such as initialization of the playback device is performed. Next, the process proceeds to step S302, and a first diagnosis is performed. Since the content is not recorded or played back immediately after startup, even if the first diagnosis places a burden on recording or playback, the first diagnosis is performed without affecting the recording or playback. It is. If the first diagnosis is performed by acquiring the attributes defined in the SMART standard as described above, the time required for the first diagnosis is not so long. When the first diagnosis ends, the process proceeds to step S303, and whether or not there is an abnormality is determined based on the result of the first diagnosis. If there is no abnormality, the process proceeds to step S304, and the normal operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus is performed. For example, a control program for the recording / reproducing apparatus is read from a recording medium and executed. If there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to step S305, and an abnormality notification such as a display to that effect is given to the operation unit 205. Further, if there is an abnormality, an operation that places a heavy burden on the recording medium may be restricted.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing in which the recording / reproducing apparatus performs the first diagnosis at idling. In step S401, it is determined whether or not the idling state has continued for N minutes or more for the reason that no operation is performed while the power is on. Here, N is a non-negative real value set by the initial setting of the recording / reproducing apparatus. If the idling state continues for N minutes or more, the process proceeds to step S402 and the first diagnosis is performed. This is because if the idling state continues for N minutes or more, the probability that the idling state will continue thereafter increases. When the first diagnosis is completed, the process proceeds to step S403, and it is determined whether there is an abnormality based on the result of the first diagnosis. If there is no abnormality, the process proceeds to step S404, and the normal operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus is performed. If there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to step S405, and abnormality notification or the like is performed. Further, if there is an abnormality, an operation that places a heavy burden on the recording medium may be restricted. Also, if some operation is performed during the first inspection and the idling state disappears, the first inspection may be stopped or the CPU resources allocated to the first inspection may be reduced. The first inspection may be continued.

(Embodiment 1: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, since the diagnosis relating to the recording medium is performed at the time of start-up or idling, the user of the recording / reproducing apparatus does not know the latest diagnosis result and does not place a burden on the recording medium according to the diagnosis result. It is possible to perform various operations.

(Embodiment 2)
As a second embodiment, a recording / reproducing apparatus that executes a second diagnosis that is a diagnosis that does not place a burden on recording or reproduction will be described.

(Embodiment 2: Configuration)
FIG. 5 illustrates a functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 500 includes a recording / reproducing unit 501, a first diagnosis unit 502, and a second diagnosis unit 503. Therefore, the configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a configuration in which the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment further includes the second diagnosis unit.

  The “second diagnosis unit” 502 executes the second diagnosis. The “second diagnosis” is a diagnosis that does not place a burden on the recording or the reproduction. It is assumed that this diagnosis is mainly performed on a recording medium. Of course, it may be performed other than the recording medium. For example, it may be performed for a tuner or a decoder. As a diagnosis that does not impose a burden on recording or reproduction, for example, when there are cases where a plurality of CPUs are provided, recording or reproduction is performed by one CPU, and processing is not performed for the remaining CPUs. There is a diagnosis performed using the CPU. In addition, when a plurality of recording media are provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus, there is a diagnosis performed on a recording medium that is not a target for recording or reproducing content. Here, “a recording medium is a target for recording or reproducing content” means that processing for writing or reading information for recording or reproducing content is performed on the recording medium. means.

(Embodiment 2: processing)
The process of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the process of the first embodiment. In addition, the second diagnosis process is performed. In other words, when the diagnosis can be performed without imposing a burden on recording or playback, the second diagnosis is executed, and if there is no abnormality as a result of this diagnosis, normal operation is performed. Notifications are performed. There are various methods for detecting when diagnosis can be performed without imposing a burden on recording or reproduction. For example, the processing of the remaining CPU is not monitored by one CPU. If the presence of an object is detected, a second diagnosis is performed on the CPU. Further, the second diagnosis may be performed by detecting the presence of a recording medium that is not a target of recording or reproduction from an operation on the operation unit 205 or the like.

(Embodiment 2: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, diagnosis without burdening recording or reproduction is performed, so that it is possible to know the latest diagnosis result or perform an operation not to burden the recording medium according to the diagnosis result.

(Embodiment 3)
As a third embodiment, a recording / reproducing apparatus that stores diagnosis results in a non-volatile memory other than a recording medium will be described.

(Embodiment 3: Configuration)
FIG. 6 illustrates a functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 600 includes a recording / reproducing unit 601, a first diagnosis unit 602, and a diagnosis result storage unit 603. In addition, a second diagnosis unit may be present and connected to the recording / reproducing unit 601 and the diagnosis result storage unit 603. Therefore, the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured such that the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first or second embodiment further includes a diagnosis result storage unit.

  The “diagnosis result storage unit” 603 includes a non-volatile memory other than the recording medium, and stores a diagnosis result. Here, the non-volatile memory is a memory that can keep the stored contents even when the power is turned off. For example, there is a flash memory. Moreover, it does not need to be comprised with a semiconductor element, A magnetic medium, a magneto-optical medium, and an optical medium may be sufficient. Further, when a plurality of recording media are provided, the diagnosis result for a certain recording medium may be stored in different recording media. “Diagnosis result” is the result of the first diagnosis. Moreover, when it has a 2nd diagnostic part, the result of a 2nd diagnosis may also be included.

  One of the purposes of storing the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory is that, when a failure due to a failure of the recording medium occurs, a repairer or the like analyzes the state of the failure.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a diagnostic result stored in the nonvolatile memory of the diagnostic result storage unit 603. In this example, the diagnosis result is information in which values such as Raw Read Error Rate, Spin Up Time, Start Stop Count, and Reallocated Sector Ct defined in the SMART standard are in the form of a table.

(Embodiment 3: Configuration)
The processing in the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment is the same as the processing in the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first or second embodiment. However, after the diagnosis by the first diagnosis unit or the second diagnosis unit is performed, the diagnosis result is stored by the diagnosis result storage unit.

(Embodiment 3: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, since the result of diagnosis is stored in the nonvolatile memory, when a failure due to a failure of the recording medium occurs, it is possible to analyze the state of the failure.

(Embodiment 4)
As a fourth embodiment, a recording / reproducing apparatus that stores diagnosis results as history over time will be described.

(Embodiment 4: Configuration)
FIG. 8 illustrates a functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 800 includes a recording / reproducing unit 801, a first diagnosis unit 802, and a diagnosis result storage unit 803, and the diagnosis result storage unit 803 includes a diagnosis result history storage unit 804. Further, a second diagnosis unit may be present and connected to the recording / reproducing unit 801 and the diagnosis result storage unit 803. Therefore, the configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured such that the diagnostic result storage unit of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment includes a diagnostic result history storage unit.

  The “diagnosis result history storage unit” 804 stores a diagnosis result history. Here, the “diagnosis result history” is a diagnosis result with time. The “diagnosis results over time” refers to the results of diagnosis performed at a plurality of times arranged in the order of time. For example, (1) a result of a diagnosis performed at the beginning of use of the recording medium (for example, a result of a diagnosis performed when the power is turned on for the first time after the recording medium is installed in the recording / reproducing apparatus) (2) The result of the diagnosis when the recording medium was used last time (that is, the result of the diagnosis performed before the current diagnosis), (3) The result of the diagnosis performed this time as a history in this order They are arranged.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the diagnosis result history stored by the diagnosis result history storage unit 804. For example, when a diagnosis is made on May 17, 2006 and the second diagnosis is made on the same day, the results of the diagnosis are stored in the table as diagnosis results 1 and 2 respectively. When a diagnosis is made on May 18, 2006, the diagnosis result 3 is stored in the table. Diagnosis result 1, diagnosis result 2, and diagnosis result 3 may be diagnosis results as exemplified in FIG. 7, for example. As many diagnostic results as the capacity of the nonvolatile memory allows may be stored. If the capacity of the non-volatile memory is insufficient to store a new diagnostic result, for example, the old diagnostic result is deleted and a new diagnostic result is stored. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a fixed number of diagnosis results may be stored.

  FIG. 10 shows a diagnosis result history including diagnosis results at three points in time, for example, (1) the result of diagnosis performed at the beginning of use of the recording medium (diagnosis result 1), and (2) the recording medium used last time. In this example, the result of diagnosis (diagnosis result 168) and (3) the result of diagnosis performed this time (diagnosis result 169) are stored. Although FIG. 10 does not show the date and time when the diagnosis is performed, these may also be stored.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, when the diagnosis result history is stored and the diagnosis is performed by starting the recording / reproducing apparatus or entering the idling state, the diagnosis result 169 is changed to the previous time. Moving to the diagnosis identifier line at the time of diagnosis, the result of the diagnosis performed when the recording / reproducing apparatus is started or is in an idling state is stored in the diagnosis identifier line at the current diagnosis time.

(Embodiment 4: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, since a history of diagnosis results is stored, when a failure or the like occurs, it is possible to know when the sign of the failure has occurred, for example, until how long the content is correctly recorded You can know what was done. In addition, the capacity of the nonvolatile memory can be limited by storing the diagnosis results at three points including the diagnosis results at the beginning of use.

(Embodiment 5)
As a fifth embodiment, a recording / reproducing apparatus that acquires a diagnosis result and determines deterioration related to a recording medium will be described.

(Embodiment 5: Configuration)
FIG. 11 illustrates a functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 1100 includes a recording / reproducing unit 1101, a first diagnosis unit 1102, a diagnosis result storage unit 1103, and a deterioration determination unit 1104. Further, a second diagnosis unit may exist and be connected to the recording / reproducing unit 1101 and the diagnosis result storage unit 1103. The diagnosis result storage unit may include a diagnosis result history storage unit. Accordingly, the configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a configuration in which the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third or fourth embodiment further includes a deterioration determination unit.

  The “deterioration determination unit” 1104 acquires the diagnosis result stored in the diagnosis result storage unit 1103, and determines deterioration related to the recording medium. The term “deterioration” as used herein refers to the degree to which the performance has deteriorated compared to when the recording medium is new, and the probability of failure increases as the deterioration progresses. For example, when the value of Spin Up Time is included in the diagnosis result, if the value exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that the deterioration of the recording medium has progressed considerably and the probability of occurrence of failure has increased. Further, if the predetermined value is exceeded, the deterioration is obviously extremely advanced, and it may be determined that it is not a problem if a failure occurs at any time, or it may be determined that a failure is apparent. Further, the deterioration may be determined based on the diagnosis result with time.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the principle of determining deterioration based on a diagnosis result with time. Each of t _start , t _last , and t _current indicates the time at the start of use, the previous diagnosis, and the current determination, and the diagnosis result at each time is V _start , V _last , and V _current (for example, V _start is a value such as a recording medium attribute obtained by diagnosis at the _start of use, or a value obtained as a result of analyzing a value of the obtained attribute, etc.) At this time, a diagnostic result for each time As shown in FIG. 12, the progress of deterioration from the start of use to the previous diagnosis is obtained as the slope of the graph from the start of use to the previous diagnosis, as shown in FIG. The progress of deterioration from the time of diagnosis to this time can be understood. Therefore, it may be determined whether or not the deterioration has occurred based on the degree of progress of deterioration obtained by the inclination of the graph. Also, if the slope of the graph from t _start to t _last and the slope of the graph from V _last to V _current differ by more than a predetermined value, some abnormality has occurred or occurred in the recording medium. You may decide that you are going. Note that FIG. 12 uses a result of diagnosis in which the value decreases with deterioration. In the following description, it is assumed that the value decreases with deterioration.

(Embodiment 5: processing)
FIG. 13 exemplifies a flowchart of processing in the deterioration determination unit 1104 of the recording / reproducing apparatus 1100 in this embodiment. For example, when the diagnosis is completed by the first diagnosis unit 1102, the processing shown in this flowchart is performed.

In step S1301, the slope of the graph from t _start to t _last is calculated as ΔV _{avg according} to the equation shown in FIG.

In step S1302, the slope of the graph from V _last to V _current is calculated as ΔV _{current according} to the equation shown in FIG.

In step S1303, the values of ΔV _current and ΔV _avg are compared to determine whether or not the value has changed beyond a predetermined value X. If it has changed beyond the predetermined value X, the process proceeds to step S1304.

In step S1304, V _current is compared with a predetermined value V _limit . Here, _assuming that V _limit is a lower _limit when normal, it is determined whether or not V _current is lower than V _limit . If so, the process proceeds to step S1305, and a deterioration warning or the like is given.

(Embodiment 5: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, since the degree of deterioration is determined based on the diagnosis result, when a failure is predicted due to the progress of deterioration, a warning or the like is issued before the occurrence of the failure, and the user of the recording / reproducing apparatus is Appropriate processing can be performed.

(Embodiment 6)
As a sixth embodiment, a description will be given of a recording / reproducing apparatus that controls the drive of a recording medium to prolong the life of the recording medium as deterioration progresses.

(Embodiment 6: Configuration)
FIG. 14 illustrates a functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 1400 includes a recording / reproducing unit 1401, a first diagnosis unit 1402, a diagnosis result storage unit 1403, a deterioration determination unit 1404, and a drive control unit 1405. Further, a second diagnosis unit may exist and be connected to the recording / reproducing unit 1401 and the diagnosis result storage unit 1403. The diagnosis result storage unit 1403 may include a diagnosis result history storage unit. Therefore, the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured such that the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment further includes a drive control unit.

  The “drive control unit” 1405 controls the drive of the recording medium in the recording / playback unit 1401 based on the determination result in the deterioration determination unit 1404. “Based on the determination result in the deterioration determination unit 1404” means that the deterioration determination unit 1404 determines the deterioration of the recording medium. For example, if the deterioration determining unit 1404 determines that a certain degree of deterioration has occurred, the drive of the recording medium is controlled. “Controlling the drive of the recording medium” means preventing the recording medium from performing a burdensome operation. For example, if it is determined that the deterioration of the head of the recording medium has progressed to a certain extent, the head is not allowed to perform an intense seek operation. For example, recording and playback are not performed at the same time, or two programs are not recorded simultaneously. In addition, random access may not be performed.

  Further, the drive control unit 1405 prevents an operation that imposes a burden on the recording medium and controls the operation unit 205 so that the user of the recording / reproducing apparatus can perform an operation that imposes a burden on the driving of the recording medium. The operation may not be selected.

(Embodiment 6: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the deterioration has progressed, an operation that imposes a burden on the drive of the recording medium is avoided, so that the life of the recording medium can be extended.

(Embodiment 7)
As a seventh embodiment, a description will be given of a recording / reproducing apparatus that controls the user's drive setting for the recording / reproducing unit to improve the life of the recording medium as deterioration progresses.

(Embodiment 7: Configuration)
FIG. 15 illustrates a functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 1500 includes a recording / reproducing unit 1501, a first diagnosis unit 1502, a diagnosis result storage unit 1503, a deterioration determination unit 1504, and a setting control unit 1505. Further, a second diagnosis unit may be present and connected to the recording / reproducing unit 1501 and the diagnosis result storage unit 1503. The diagnosis result storage unit 1503 may include a diagnosis result history storage unit. Therefore, the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured such that the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment further includes a setting control unit.

  A “setting control unit” 1505 controls user drive settings for the recording / playback unit 1501 based on the determination result of the deterioration determination unit 1504. “Based on the determination result in the deterioration determination unit 1504” means that the deterioration determination unit 1504 determines the deterioration of the recording medium. For example, if the deterioration determination unit 1504 determines that a certain degree of deterioration has occurred, the user's drive setting for the recording / playback unit 1501 is controlled. “Control user's drive settings for the recording / playback unit 1501” is a recording or playback setting set by an initial setting of the recording / playback device 1500, and the contents of the settings related to the operation of the recording / playback unit 1501. Is to change. For example, if the dubbing speed can be selected from "high speed", "equal speed", etc. by initial setting, etc., "high speed" places a burden on the drive of the recording medium rather than "equal speed". If “high speed” is selected, “same speed” is forcibly selected to lighten the burden of driving the recording medium.

  In addition, the setting control unit 1505 displays, for example, “The dubbing speed has been set from the high speed to the normal speed because the deterioration of the disk has been detected” when the setting that imposes a burden on the drive of the recording medium is changed. As described above, the operation unit 205 or the like may be controlled.

(Embodiment 7: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the deterioration has progressed, the initial setting that imposes a burden on the drive of the recording medium is changed to one that has a small burden, so that the life of the recording medium can be extended.

Functional block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment. Hardware configuration of recording / playback device Flowchart of processing in which the recording / reproducing apparatus performs the first diagnosis at startup Flowchart of processing in which the recording / reproducing apparatus performs the first diagnosis when idling Functional block diagram of recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 Functional block diagram of recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 3 Example diagram of diagnostic results stored in non-volatile memory Functional block diagram of recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 3 Example of stored diagnostic result history An example of diagnosis result history consisting of diagnosis results at three points in time Functional block diagram of recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 5 The figure which shows the principle which judges deterioration based on the diagnosis result with time Flow chart of processing in the degradation judgment unit Functional block diagram of recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 6 Functional block diagram of recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 7

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Recording / reproducing apparatus 101 Recording / reproducing part 102 1st diagnostic part

Claims (11)

A recording / reproducing unit for recording the content on the recording medium or reproducing the content from the recording medium;
A first diagnosis unit that is capable of placing a burden on the recording or the reproduction and that executes a first diagnosis that is a diagnosis related to the recording medium at the time of startup or idling;
A recording / reproducing apparatus.   The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second diagnosis unit that executes a second diagnosis that is a diagnosis that does not place a burden on the recording or the reproduction.   The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a diagnostic result storage unit configured by a nonvolatile memory other than the recording medium and storing a diagnostic result.   The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the diagnosis result storage unit includes a diagnosis result history storage unit that stores a diagnosis result history that is a diagnosis result over time.   The diagnosis result history storage means stores at least diagnosis results at three points of time, that is, a diagnosis result at the beginning of use of the recording medium, a diagnosis result when the previous recording medium is used, and a diagnosis result when the current recording medium is used. Item 5. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to Item 4.   The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a deterioration determination unit that acquires a diagnosis result stored in the diagnosis result storage unit and determines deterioration related to the recording medium.   The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a drive control unit that controls driving of the recording medium in the recording / reproducing unit based on a determination result in the deterioration determining unit.   The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a setting control unit that controls a user's drive setting for the recording / reproducing unit based on a determination result in the deterioration determining unit. A diagnostic method relating to the recording medium of a recording / reproducing apparatus having a recording / reproducing unit for recording the content on the recording medium or reproducing the content from the recording medium,
A diagnostic method relating to a recording medium of a recording / reproducing apparatus, comprising a first diagnostic step of executing a first diagnosis, which is a diagnosis capable of placing a burden on the recording or the reproduction, at the time of starting or idling the recording medium.   The diagnostic method for the recording medium of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a second diagnosis step of executing a second diagnosis that is a diagnosis that does not place a burden on the recording or the reproduction.   The diagnostic method for a recording medium of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising a diagnostic result storage step comprising a nonvolatile memory other than the recording medium and storing a diagnostic result.

Images