JP2008108332A - Recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording and reproducing device in which a progress situation of the damage of a hard disk can be acknowledged stepwise, backup can be performed by suiting the convenience of a user, and which is easy to be used. <P>SOLUTION: In a HDD integrated type optical disk device (recording and reproducing device) 10, information indicating the physical condition of a hard disk drive is obtained, a value of the information is compared with prescribed thresholds set to a plurality of steps, the progress situation of the damage of the hard disk drive is evaluated, warning in accordance with the progress situation of the damage is outputted stepwise, any of the warning is outputted, selection whether the prohibition of video recording is permitted or not is expedited, and when the selection of the permission is performed, the video recording is prohibited, any of the warning after the prohibition of the video recording is outputted, while only the switching-on/off of a power source and the backup of data can be performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus including a hard disk drive, and more particularly to a recording / reproducing apparatus for monitoring a hard disk for damage.

  Recording / playback apparatuses used for recording programs at home include video cassette recorders, optical disk apparatuses such as DVDs, and hard disk recorders. There is also a multifunction machine in which these devices are incorporated in a single housing, for example, a hard disk drive integrated optical disk device.

  Among them, a recording medium that has become popular in recent years is a hard disk. A hard disk is a large-capacity recording medium and can record for a long time. By the way, the hard disk may be gradually damaged by use. If the damage occurs, the alternative sector is used so that it cannot be used immediately.

  However, if the hard disk breaks down, it will eventually become unusable, so it is necessary to back up the data required for other recording media. Therefore, various techniques for notifying the hard disk of damage have been proposed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing data on / from a hard disk device, bad sectors in the hard disk device are monitored, and it is determined that the hard disk device is in a state immediately before failure due to an increase in defective sectors with time. However, it is disclosed that a user is notified that an important file is backed up to a memory card.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, an attribute value of self-state information such as the number of alternative sectors is acquired, and a failure of the hard disk is predicted based on a change or a change rate of the attribute value. It is disclosed that warning information to that effect is displayed on an operator display.
JP 2005-32377 A JP 2005-115975 A

  In the above Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is described that the user is warned that there is a possibility that the hard disk may break down. However, how much damage is in progress and how long it cannot be used. Not warned. Therefore, the user must back up immediately and is not convenient.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-use recording / reproducing apparatus that can know in a stepwise manner the progress of damage to a hard disk drive and that can be backed up according to the convenience of the user.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a recording / reproducing apparatus including a hard disk drive and a control unit that controls the hard disk drive.
The controller is
Obtaining information indicating the health status of the hard disk drive, comparing the value of the information with a predetermined threshold, estimating the progress of damage to the hard disk drive, and outputting a warning corresponding to the progress of damage It is characterized by.

  In the recording / reproducing apparatus, the predetermined threshold value is set in a plurality of stages, and the warning is preferably output in a plurality of stages.

  Further, a predetermined operation restriction may be performed together with any one of the warning outputs. The operation restriction can be prohibited from recording. Further, it may be designed to prompt selection of whether or not to prohibit the recording.

  Further, the operation restriction may be such that only power ON / OFF and data backup can be performed.

When the present invention is embodied, in a recording / reproducing apparatus including a hard disk drive and a control unit that controls the hard disk drive,
The controller is
Obtaining information indicating the health status of the hard disk drive, comparing the value of the information with a predetermined threshold set in a plurality of stages, estimating the progress of damage to the hard disk drive, and depending on the progress of damage Output warnings in multiple stages,
Along with the output of any of the above warnings, the user is prompted to select whether or not to prohibit recording.
Along with the output of any of the warnings after the prohibition of recording, only power on / off and data backup are possible.

  According to the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, since a warning corresponding to the progress of the hard disk damage is output, the user can know the progress of the hard disk drive damage step by step. And since it can back up according to the convenience of the user, it is convenient.

  Hereinafter, a hard disk drive (HDD) integrated optical disk apparatus will be described as an example of a recording / reproducing apparatus. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an HDD integrated optical disk device 10 and its peripheral devices. Connected to the HDD-integrated optical disk device 10 are a display device 11 such as a television and an external device 12 typified by a playback device such as a set-top box or a video deck such as a cable television or satellite broadcast. The HDD integrated optical disk device 10 can be operated by a remote controller 13. Hereinafter, a DVD will be described as an example of the optical disk.

  The HDD-integrated optical disk apparatus 10 includes a tuner 16 that demodulates and digitizes a television broadcast signal received by the antenna 15, and compresses and encodes the audio / video data received from the tuner 16 or the external apparatus 12 in accordance with MPEG2 or the like. The audio / video compression / decompression unit 17 for decompressing / decoding compressed image data reproduced by the HDD recording / reproducing unit 18 or the DVD recording / reproducing unit 19, and the compressed video / audio data received from the audio / video compression / decompression unit 17 An HDD recording / reproducing unit 18 that records on an HDD or reproduces data recorded on the HDD, and a compressed video / audio data received from the video / audio compression / decompression unit 17 is recorded on an inserted DVD, A DVD recording / reproducing unit 19 that reproduces data recorded on the display unit and various setting values are displayed on a part of the display device 11. An OSD (On Screen Display) unit 20 that can be set in an open state, an image signal from the OSD unit 20 that is converted into an analog signal and output to the display device 11, and an audio signal from the image audio compression / decompression unit 17 An audio output unit 22 that converts the signal into an analog signal and outputs it to a display device, a memory 23 that includes a ROM or a RAM, a remote control reception unit 24 that receives a signal from the remote controller 13, an external I / F 25 to which the external device 12 is connected And a control unit 26 that controls each unit of the HDD-integrated optical disk apparatus 10.

  In addition, the control unit 26 acquires information indicating the health state of the HDD, compares the value of the information with a predetermined threshold, estimates the progress of the HDD damage, and gives a warning corresponding to the progress of the damage. The output is also controlled to perform a predetermined operation restriction.

  For example, SMART (Self Monitoring Analysis And Reporting Technology) information can be used as the information indicating the health status of the HDD. Information such as reading errors, the number of defective sectors, the number of alternative sectors, and temperature can be arbitrarily specified as SMART information. Can be included. For example, the HDD recognition time (SMART information acquisition time) and the number of read retries can also be used.

  As HDD damage progresses, read errors tend to increase, bad sectors increase, alternative sectors increase, HDD recognition time increases, and the number of read retries tends to increase. is there. Therefore, if the value of these information exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it can be determined that the HDD has been damaged. The predetermined threshold value can be determined by an experimental experience value.

  Next, an operation for prompting data backup when there is a possibility that the HDD is damaged will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the HDD-integrated optical disk apparatus 10 that monitors the HDD for damage.

  First, when the HDD integrated optical disk apparatus 10 is activated, information indicating the health state of the HDD is acquired in step S10. This information may be any of the above information. For example, when using the number of alternative sectors, it is only necessary to acquire SMART information and read the number of alternative sectors.

  Next, it progresses to step S11 and the value of the acquired information is compared with a 1st threshold value. Here, it is assumed that the first threshold value is a value for determining whether or not there is a possibility that the HDD is slightly damaged in the initial stage, and is stored in the memory 23.

  In step S11, if the value of the acquired information is smaller, it is determined that there is no possibility of damage to the HDD, and the process ends. On the other hand, if the value of the information acquired in step S11 is larger, it is determined that there is a possibility that the HDD is damaged at least in the initial stage, and the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, the acquired information is compared with the second threshold value. Here, the second threshold value is larger than the first threshold value and is a value for determining whether or not there is a possibility that the HDD is damaged in the middle stage where the damage has progressed from the initial stage, and is stored in the memory 23. It is assumed that

  In step S12, if the acquired information value is smaller, the acquired information value is between the first threshold value and the second threshold value, so the process proceeds to step S13 and the HDD is damaged in the initial stage. Output a warning that there is a possibility. For this output, for example, a message such as “There is a possibility that the HDD may be damaged at an early stage, so data backup is recommended.” Is read from the memory 23 and displayed on the display device 11 or output by voice. Here, the user knows for the first time that the HDD may be damaged, and it is considered that if the user is cautious, the data will be backed up. The backup can be performed on a DVD set in the DVD recording / reproducing unit 18 or a recording medium of the external device 12.

  On the other hand, if the value of the acquired information is larger in step S12, it is determined that there is a possibility that the HDD is damaged at least in the middle stage, and the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, the acquired information is compared with the third threshold value. Here, the third threshold value is larger than the second threshold value, and is a value for determining whether or not there is a possibility that the HDD is damaged at a later stage where the damage has progressed more than at the middle stage, and is stored in the memory 23. It is assumed that

  If the acquired information value is smaller in step S14, the acquired information value is between the second threshold value and the third threshold value. Output a warning that there is a possibility. The output may be the same method as in step S13. Here, the user knows that the HDD has been damaged, and if the data has not yet been backed up, it is considered that the user who backs up appears.

  On the other hand, if the value of the acquired information is larger in step S14, it is determined that there is a possibility that the HDD is damaged at least in the later stage, and the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the acquired information is compared with the fourth threshold value. Here, the fourth threshold value is larger than the third threshold value, and is a value for determining whether or not there is a possibility that the HDD is damaged at the final stage where the damage has progressed from the later stage, and is stored in the memory 23. It is assumed that

  In step S16, if the acquired information value is smaller, the acquired information value is between the third threshold value and the fourth threshold value, so the process proceeds to step S17 and the HDD is damaged in the later stage. Output a warning that there is a possibility. The output may be the same method as in step S13. Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S18 to prompt the user to select whether or not to prohibit recording in order to limit the operation. Specifically, the display device 11 displays a message such as “Do you want to prohibit recording in order not to increase data any more?” And “Yes” and “No” that are made selectable by the user.

  If “Yes” is selected in step S18, the process proceeds to step S19, where the recording instruction is treated as invalid and recording is prohibited. Thereafter, this operation control state is maintained even when the power is turned off. Note that there is no need to add operation restrictions for DVDs. On the other hand, if “No” is selected in step S18, the process is terminated. Note that step S18 is not always necessary, and step S19 may be forcibly followed by step S19. Here, it is considered that the user knows that the HDD has been considerably damaged, and the number of users who back up data increases.

  On the other hand, if the value of the acquired information is larger in step S16, it is determined that the HDD may be damaged at the final stage, and the process proceeds to step S20 to indicate that the HDD may be damaged at the final stage. Output a warning. The output may be the same method as in step S13. Then, it progresses to step S21 and adds further operation | movement restrictions.

  In step S21, it is determined that the HDD is completely damaged if the HDD-integrated optical disc apparatus 10 is used any more, and only power on / off and data backup are possible, and other instructions are invalid. Treat as. Thereafter, this operation control state is maintained even when the power is turned off. Note that there is no need to add operation restrictions for DVDs. Here, the user will know that the HDD will soon be unusable, and most of the users who have not yet backed up data will back up the data.

  In this way, the progress of the HDD damage is judged step by step, only a warning is given at the beginning, and then the operation is gradually restricted to prompt the user to back up data. Therefore, the user can back up according to the convenience while determining the state of damage to the HDD.

  In the above embodiment, the first to fourth threshold values are used, but the number of threshold values is not particularly limited. In order to output a warning according to the progress of damage, the threshold value may be set in a plurality of stages, and the warning may be output in a plurality of stages.

  Further, the information acquired in step S10 may be a plurality of information. In that case, if the criterion is whether or not the predetermined number of information exceeds the threshold value for each, the criterion for determining the breakage becomes stricter as the predetermined number is increased. Then, if it is determined whether or not all of the acquired information exceeds the respective thresholds, the criterion for determining the breakage becomes the strictest.

  Further, the predetermined operation restriction performed in step S19 or step S21 is not limited to the above-described operation restriction, and other operation restrictions such as prohibition of reproduction may be added. Moreover, the operation | movement restriction | limiting of step S19 or step S21 is not necessarily required.

  2 may be performed at least when the HDD-integrated optical disk apparatus 10 is started, or may be performed periodically during use.

  The present invention can be used for a recording / reproducing apparatus equipped with an HDD such as a hard disk recorder, and is also used for a multi-function apparatus in which a plurality of recording / reproducing units are incorporated in one casing, for example, an HDD integrated optical disk apparatus. be able to.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an HDD-integrated optical disk device of the present invention and peripheral devices thereof. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the HDD integrated optical disk apparatus for monitoring the HDD damage according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 HDD integrated optical disk device (recording / reproducing device)
26 Control unit

Claims (7)

In a recording / reproducing apparatus comprising a hard disk drive and a control unit for controlling the hard disk drive,
The controller is
Obtaining information indicating the health status of the hard disk drive, comparing the value of the information with a predetermined threshold set in a plurality of stages, estimating the progress of damage to the hard disk drive, and depending on the progress of damage Output warnings in multiple stages,
Along with the output of any of the above warnings, the user is prompted to select whether or not to prohibit recording.
A recording / reproducing apparatus capable of only turning on / off the power and backing up data together with the output of the warning after the prohibition of recording. In a recording / reproducing apparatus comprising a hard disk drive and a control unit for controlling the hard disk drive,
The controller is
Obtaining information indicating the health status of the hard disk drive, comparing the value of the information with a predetermined threshold, estimating the progress of damage to the hard disk drive, and outputting a warning corresponding to the progress of damage A recording / reproducing apparatus.   3. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined threshold is set in a plurality of stages, and the warning is also output in a plurality of stages.   4. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a predetermined operation restriction is performed together with any one of the warning outputs.   5. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the operation restriction is prohibition of recording.   6. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein selection of whether or not to prohibit the recording is prompted.   5. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the operation restriction is enabled only for power on / off and data backup.

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