JP2014078288A - Information recording medium, recording and reproducing device, method for controlling recording and reproducing device, control program, and computer-readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the processing time until the recording or reproduction of data.SOLUTION: In an optical disk 100, the position of a BCA 101a that is an area other than a user data recording area 101c and management information recording areas 101b, 101d is set at the inner periphery or outer periphery of a recording layer 101 according to the recording direction or reproduction direction, and the BCA 101a records layer identification information for identifying the recording layer 101.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information recording medium having a recording layer that does not include a track and a guide layer that includes a guide track for tracking.

  Conventionally, as an optical disc having a plurality of recording layers, the guide layer and the recording layer are not separated but integrated (that is, a guide track is formed in each recording layer). Type optical disc) and an optical disc (guide layer separated type optical disc) in which a recording layer and a guide layer are separated and formed separately.

  Currently, BD, DVD, and the like are widely used as the guide layer integrated optical disc. For example, in the BD, position (address) information is recorded in wobble obtained by modulating a guide track at high speed.

  On the other hand, the guide layer separation type optical disc has a structure in which a recording layer having a simple structure is laminated because tracks (pits, wobbles, etc.) are not formed on the recording layer. For this reason, it can be manufactured easily. Further, in general, in the guide layer integrated optical disc, the guide track manufacturing accuracy becomes stricter as the number of recording layers increases, whereas in the guide layer separated optical disc, no track is formed in the recording layer. There is also an advantage that the recording layer can be easily multi-layered.

  On the guide layer-integrated optical disc (normal recording medium), layer number information (layer identification information) for identifying each recording layer is recorded for each recording layer. That is, data indicating what number recording layer is recorded in each of the plurality of recording layers. The optical disc includes a recording layer having a multilayer structure each having a track for guiding recording light, and the layer identification information (for example, a layer number) is recorded on a track composed of pits (unevenness). The track may be wobble. As an example of a guide layer integrated optical disc in which such layer identification information is recorded, Patent Document 1 is cited.

  An optical disc 300 of Patent Document 1 is shown in FIG. In the optical disc 300, layer number information is recorded as pits 303 in the inner circumference and / or the non-data recording area 302 in the outer circumference of the data recording area 301 of each recording layer (inner circumference in FIG. 11). By making the pit 303 functioning as the layer number information longer than the circumferential length of the pit formed in the data recording area 301, the pit 303 can be read only by the focus operation.

International Publication No. 2006/0449301 (Released on May 11, 2006)

  However, in the optical disc 300 of Patent Document 1, layer number information is not recorded according to the data recording direction or the reproduction direction for each recording layer of the optical disc. Therefore, when layer number information is recorded, for example, on the end point side in the recording direction or the reproducing direction, the recording / reproducing apparatus returns to the starting point side in the recording direction or reproducing direction after reading the layer number information. Data recording or reproduction is performed. That is, in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the processing time until data recording or reproduction becomes long.

  In addition, in the guide layer separation type optical disc, since no track is formed in each recording layer, layer identification information for identifying the recording layer cannot be recorded in pits or wobbles. For this reason, in this guide layer separation type optical disc, in order to identify each recording layer, the recording layer is changed by changing the reflectance of each recording layer, and the recording / reproducing apparatus detects the difference in reflectance to identify each recording layer. Was. However, although it is possible to identify at the prototype level using the evaluator, if it is assumed that the optical disc is mass-produced and information is recorded or reproduced in various recording / reproducing apparatuses, It was difficult to identify.

  Therefore, in the guide layer separation type optical disc, it is difficult to shorten the processing time until data recording or reproduction after accurately identifying each recording layer.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to record information in a so-called guide layer separation type information recording medium that can shorten the processing time until data recording or reproduction. To provide a medium and a recording / reproducing apparatus.

  An information recording medium according to an aspect of the present invention is an information recording medium having a recording layer that does not include a track and a guide layer that includes a guide track for tracking in order to solve the above-described problem. The position of a non-data recording area that is an area other than a user data recording area capable of recording data and a management information recording area capable of recording management information for managing the recording layer is relative to the recording layer. The recording layer is set to the inner or outer periphery of the recording layer according to the recording direction when performing data recording or the reproducing direction when performing data reproduction, and the recording layer is identified in the non-data recording area Layer identification information is recorded.

  According to the information recording medium or the like according to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to shorten the processing time until data recording or data reproduction on the recording layer.

It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the said optical disk for demonstrating the optical disk which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the whole schematic structure of the optical disk apparatus which records or reproduces | regenerates the said optical disk. It is a figure which shows an example of the laminated structure of the said optical disk. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the control part with which the said optical disk apparatus is provided. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process in the said optical disk apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the laminated structure of the optical disk which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the said optical disk for demonstrating the said optical disk. It is a figure which shows an example of the laminated structure of the optical disk which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the said optical disk for demonstrating the said optical disk. It is a comparative example of the optical disk which concerns on each embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of a guide layer separated type optical disk. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the conventional optical disk of a guide layer integrated type.

[Embodiment 1]
First, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

<Schematic Configuration of Optical Disc Device 1>
First, an overall schematic configuration of an optical disc apparatus 1 (recording / reproducing apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of the optical disc apparatus 1.

  The optical disc apparatus 1 can record or reproduce information with respect to the optical disc 100 (information recording medium) (see FIG. 3) of the present embodiment. The optical disk 100 is a so-called guide layer separation type optical disk having a flat recording layer 101 having no track and a guide layer 102 having a guide track T for tracking.

  The optical disc apparatus 1 is an apparatus capable of recording or reproducing information on the guide layer separation type optical disc as well as the optical disc 100 of the present embodiment. In the following description, information is recorded or reproduced.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the optical disc apparatus 1 mainly includes a storage unit 3, a disc loading recognition unit 6, a recording / reproducing circuit group 10, an optical pickup 12, and a control unit 20. The optical pickup 12 includes an optical head 11, and the recording / reproducing circuit group 10 mainly includes a pickup driving circuit 13, a laser driving circuit 14, and a reproducing circuit 15.

  The optical head 11 includes a recording / reproducing lens 11a and a servo lens 11b. The recording / reproducing lens 11a is a recording laser beam (recording light) for writing (recording) various information on the recording layer 101, or a reproduction for reading (reproducing) information recorded on the recording layer 101. In order to irradiate a predetermined position of the recording layer 101 with a recording laser beam (reproduction light), the traveling direction of the recording laser beam or the reproduction laser beam emitted from a laser light source (not shown) is controlled. . The servo lens 11b emits a servo laser beam emitted from a laser light source (not shown) to irradiate a predetermined position of the guide track T of the guide layer 102 with a servo laser beam when writing or reading the information. It controls the traveling direction of light. The advancing direction is controlled by the recording / reproducing circuit group 10 controlling the operations of the recording / reproducing lens 11a and the servo lens 11b.

  Further, the optical disk apparatus 1 moves the focal position of the servo laser light on the guide track T of the guide layer 102 by tracking control by the servo lens 11b during information recording or information reproduction on the recording layer 101. A recording laser beam or a reproducing laser beam is condensed on the recording layer 101 by the recording / reproducing lens 11a. In order to realize this processing, the control unit 20 moves the optical pickup 12 to the writing position (recording site) via the pickup driving circuit 13 and outputs a recording laser output from the optical head 11 of the optical pickup 12. Controls the focal position and output value of light. At this time, the control unit 20 sets recording conditions via the laser driving circuit 14. Thereby, the optical disc apparatus 1 can record information on the recording layer 101 of the optical disc 100.

  In the optical disc apparatus 1, the control unit 20 moves the optical pickup 12 to the recording part of the optical disc 100 via the pickup drive circuit 13. Then, after setting the reproduction condition via the laser driving circuit 14, the control unit 20 controls the focal position and output value of the reproduction laser beam from the optical head 11, and reproduces the reproduction laser beam to the recording portion of the optical disc 100. Irradiate. The reflected light detected by the optical head 11 is converted into a reproduction signal by the reproduction circuit 15 and input to the control unit 20. Thereby, the optical disc apparatus 1 can reproduce the information recorded on the recording layer 101 of the optical disc 100.

  The disk loading recognition unit 6 is for detecting loading of the optical disk 100. For example, various sensors can be exemplified, but any sensor can be used as long as loading of the optical disk 100 can be detected. Also good. Further, the disc loading recognition unit 6 outputs the detected result to the control unit 20 as a detection signal.

  The specific configurations of the storage unit 3 and the control unit 20 will be described later.

<Configuration of Optical Disc 100>
(Laminated structure)
Next, an optical disc 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG. 1 and FIG. First, a schematic configuration of the optical disc 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a laminated structure of the optical disc 100.

  As illustrated, the optical disc 100 includes a guide layer 102A, recording layers 101A to 101D, and intermediate layers 103A to 103D between a substrate 105 and a cover layer 104. Specifically, the guide layer 102A, the intermediate layer 103A, the recording layer 101A, the intermediate layer 103B, the recording layer 101B, the intermediate layer 103C, the recording layer 101C, the intermediate layer 103D, the recording layer 101D, and the cover layer 104 are formed from the substrate 105. They are stacked in order. Then, from the cover layer 104 side, the recording laser beam or the reproducing laser beam is irradiated through the recording / reproducing lens 11a, and the servo laser beam is irradiated through the servo lens 11b.

  The recording layer, guide layer, and intermediate layer of the optical disc 100 may be collectively referred to as “recording layer 101”, “guide layer 102”, and “intermediate layer 103”, respectively.

  The recording layer 101 is a layer capable of recording various data, but does not include a track. Here, the recording layer “not provided with a track” means that the recording layer is not provided with a track for data recording.

  The guide layer 102 includes a guide track T for performing tracking. More specifically, servo information including position (address) information is recorded as guide tracks T on the guide layer 102.

  That is, in the optical disc 100, by providing the guide layer 102 and eliminating the track (pit or wobble) from each recording layer 101, it is possible to stack recording layers having a simple structure. Therefore, the optical disc 100 can be manufactured more easily than an optical disc that does not include the guide layer 102 (guide layer-integrated optical disc). Further, in the guide layer-integrated optical disc, as the number of recording layers increases, the accuracy of manufacturing guide tracks on each recording layer becomes stricter. However, in the optical disc 100, the guide layer 102 is provided separately from the recording layer 101. Therefore, such strictness is not required. Therefore, in the optical disc 100, the recording layer can be easily multilayered as compared with the guide layer integrated optical disc.

  Since the recording layer 101 and the guide layer 102 are provided, the optical disc device 1 performs tracking control to a predetermined position of the guide layer 102 as described above, thereby moving the recording layer 101 to a predetermined position. Information can be written and information can be read from a predetermined position of the recording layer 101.

In the present embodiment, the recording layer 101 has a configuration in which a laminated film of BiGeO or Si and Cu is sandwiched between dielectric films such as SiO ₂ , TiO _2, or ZnS—SiO ₂ . However, the recording layer 101 is sensitive to the wavelength or intensity of the recording laser beam or the reproducing laser beam, and the refractive index, transmittance, absorptance, reflectance, and the like change, without being limited to the above materials and the above configuration. Any material can be used. For example, the recording layer 101 may contain AgNdCu, Fe ₂ O ₃ or the like in order to adjust the light reflectance or absorption rate of the recording layer 101. Further, it may be a photopolymer, a photo-anisotropic material, a photorefractive material, a hole burning material, or a photochromic material.

  The guide layer 102 is made of, for example, a metal material that reflects servo laser light, a mirror made of a dielectric multilayer film, or the like. Note that the guide layer 102 preferably does not reflect the recording laser beam or the reproduction laser beam.

  The intermediate layer 103 separates the recording layers 101 to such an extent that the interlayer crosstalk of the recording layers 101 does not become a problem. The intermediate layer 103 corresponds to the wavelengths of the recording laser beam, the reproducing laser beam, and the servo laser beam. Any material having a high transmittance may be used, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin.

  The cover layer 104 protects the recording layer 101 and the intermediate layer 103 from external factors. The cover layer 104 only needs to have a high transmittance with respect to the wavelengths of the recording laser beam, the reproducing laser beam, and the servo laser beam, and is made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin or polycarbonate.

  The substrate 105 supports the laminated structure of the recording layer 101, the guide layer 102, the intermediate layer 103, and the cover layer 104, and is made of, for example, polycarbonate, polyolefin resin, metal, or the like.

  In FIG. 3, the optical disc 100 is composed of four recording layers 101A to 101D. However, the recording layer 101 is not limited to this and may be composed of a single layer or a plurality of layers. Further, it is only necessary to provide the intermediate layer 103 between the recording layers 101 and between the recording layer 101 and the cover layer 104. In this case, the number of the recording layers 101 and the intermediate layers 103 is the same.

  The optical disc 100 is manufactured through a general manufacturing process of a guide layer separation type optical disc. The shape of the optical disc 100 and the thickness of each layer are also the same as the shape of the general guide layer separation type optical disc and the thickness of each layer. It is the same. Furthermore, the material of each layer is not limited to the above.

(Details of recording layer 101 and guide layer 102)
Next, details of the recording layer 101 and the guide layer 102 of the optical disc 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an optical disc 100 for explaining the optical disc 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of the configuration of the optical disc 100 of FIG. 3 with the intermediate layers 103A to 103D, the cover layer 104, and the substrate 105 omitted from illustration.

  From the inner circumference side of the optical disc 100, the recording layer 101 mainly includes a BCA (Burst Cutting Area) 101a (non-data recording area, specific area), a management information recording area 101b, a user data recording area 101c, and a management information recording area 101d. It consists of

  The BCA 101a is an area where information cannot be rewritten (written), and identification information (disk information) for identifying the physical structure of the optical disc 100 is recorded. Specific examples of the identification information include the type of recording layer (write-once type, rewritable type) included in the optical disc 100, the size of the optical disc 100 (total number of layers), the version of the optical disc 100 (related to speed, etc.), the polarity of servo, and the recording. Examples include the polarity of the mark and a number (ID) unique to the optical disc 100. Note that the recording order (or arrangement method) of these identification information may be arbitrary, and is usually determined by a standard or the like.

  In addition, layer identification information for identifying each recording layer 101 is recorded in the BCA 101a in advance. The layer identification information may be information that can identify the layer position, and may be, for example, layer number information (for example, L0, L1, L2,...) Indicating the order of the recording layers from the laser light incident side. . In this case, the layer identification information is recorded as a so-called BCA code that can be read without tracking.

  As described above, since the layer identification information is recorded in the BCA 101a, unlike the conventional guide layer separation type optical disc, the recording layer to which data recording or data reproduction is to be performed (the currently accessed recording layer, hereinafter designated layer). Can also be accurately identified. Note that the designated layer can be said to be a layer on which recording or reproduction is performed when a data recording instruction or reproduction instruction is received, for example.

  The optical disc apparatus 1 stores data indicating the correspondence between the layer identification information (layer number information) and the recording layer so that the layer position of the recording layer can be identified from the layer identification information. Yes. Therefore, the optical disc apparatus 1 can determine whether the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information matches the recording layer to be recorded by reading the layer identification information.

  The management information recording area 101b is an area in which management information for managing each recording layer 101 can be recorded. As management information, for example, standard conditions for recording / reproduction on the optical disc 100, information indicating permission / non-permission (access restriction) of access of the optical disc apparatus 1 to each recording layer 101, defects at the time of manufacture, and defects generated during use Information indicating the position of the recording medium, position information indicating the position (address) on the optical disk, and the like are recorded. Information indicating the position of the defect is recorded in the defect management area in the management information recording area 101b.

  In the management information recording area 101b, recording condition information indicating the recording condition of each recording layer 101 and reproduction condition information indicating the reproducing condition of each recording layer 101 can be recorded.

  The user data recording area 101c is provided on the outer peripheral side of the management information recording area 101b, and is an area where various data such as software and content can be recorded.

  The management information recording area 101d is provided on the outer periphery side of the user data recording area 101c, and records information indicating the position of the defect described above. The same information as the management information recording area 101b can be recorded in the management information recording area 101d.

  Further, the guide layer 102A includes a direction identification information recording area 106 in which direction identification information is recorded. The direction identification information is information including a recording direction when the optical disc apparatus 1 performs data recording on each recording layer 101 or a reproduction direction when data reproduction is performed. For convenience, the recording direction and the reproduction direction in each recording layer 101 are described as being the same, but the recording direction and the reproduction direction may be different.

  Specifically, the direction identification information includes, for example, each recording layer 101, a recording direction or reproducing direction thereof, a guide layer 102 having a tracking direction corresponding to the recording direction or reproducing direction, and each recording layer 101. Is associated with position information where the BCA 101a is provided. For example, in FIG. 1, the direction identification information includes information indicating a direction from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side as a recording direction or a reproduction direction of each recording layer 101, and a guide having a tracking direction corresponding to the recording direction or the reproduction direction. Information indicating the layer 102A is associated with information indicating the inner periphery of the optical disc 100 as position information where the BCA 101a included in each recording layer 101 is provided. That is, the tracking direction with respect to the guide layer 102A corresponds to the recording direction or the reproducing direction of the recording layer 101.

  In other words, the optical disc 100 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of recording layers 101 (four layers in FIG. 1) and one guide layer 102, and each recording layer 101 has a recording direction or reproduction. The directions are the same. As described above, the tracking direction with respect to the guide layer 102 corresponds to the recording direction or the reproducing direction of the recording layer 101. Therefore, the optical disc apparatus 1 can appropriately perform data recording or data reproduction for each of the recording layers 101 in a configuration including one guide layer 102 and a plurality of recording layers 101.

  The information indicating the recording direction or the reproduction direction may be position information on the starting point side (address information on the innermost or outermost side). For example, the information indicating the direction from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side may be address information on the innermost peripheral side, and the information indicating the direction from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side may be address information on the outermost peripheral side.

  In FIG. 1, the recording direction or the reproducing direction of each recording layer 101 is set in a direction from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side, but of course, the opposite direction (from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side). Direction).

  Further, the direction identification information recording area 106 exists at a position where the reproduction laser beam is first irradiated after the optical disc 100 is loaded in the optical disc apparatus 1. In this embodiment, as an example, the direction identification information recording area 106 is provided on the innermost circumference side of the optical disc 100. According to this configuration, the optical disc apparatus 1 can read the direction identification information immediately after the optical disc 100 is loaded, and can recognize the recording direction or reproduction direction of each recording layer 101, the position of the BCA 101a, and the like.

  In the above description, the configuration in which the guide layer 102 includes the direction identification information recording area 106 and the direction identification information is recorded in the area has been described, but the configuration is merely an example. For example, the direction identification information recording area 106 may not be provided on the optical disc 100. That is, the direction identification information may not be recorded on the optical disc 100.

  In that case, the optical disc apparatus 1 is set according to the recording direction or the reproduction direction of each recording layer 101 so that the position of the BCA 101a of each recording layer 101 can be specified (that is, the recording direction or reproduction of each recording layer 101). The position information indicating the position of the BCA 101a of each recording layer 101 in which the layer identification information is recorded, which is arranged on the start point side of the direction, may be recorded on the optical disc 100. For example, this position information may be recorded at a predetermined position in an area where the optical disc apparatus 1 first accesses the optical disc 100, and this identification information includes the position information. Information may be recorded at the predetermined position.

  Further, the direction identification information and the position information indicating the position of the BCA 101a are not necessarily recorded on the optical disc 100. In this case, the optical disc apparatus 1 searches the position of the BCA 101a provided in the recording layer 101 (that is, the recording position of the layer identification information) after accessing the recording layer 101 that is considered to be the designated layer. The optical disc apparatus 1 recognizes, for example, a difference in recording form between data recorded in the BCA 101a (including layer identification information) and data recorded in other areas (user data recording area 101c). Thus, the position of the BCA 101a (that is, the recording position of the layer identification information) can be recognized.

  In the following description, it is assumed that the direction identification information recording area 106 is provided on the optical disc 100 and the direction identification information is recorded in the area as the control of the optical disc 100 and the optical disc apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. To do.

(Position of BCA101a)
As described above, the layer identification information for identifying each recording layer 101 is recorded in the BCA 101 a of each recording layer 101. As shown in FIG. 1, the position of the BCA 101a (non-data recording area), which is an area other than the user data recording area 101c and the management information recording areas 101b and 101d, is the starting point in the recording direction or the reproducing direction of each recording layer 101. It is set to be on the side.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the recording direction or the reproduction direction of each recording layer 101 is a direction from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side. That is, in the case of the optical disc 100 of FIG. 1, the direction identification information includes information indicating the direction from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side as the recording direction or the reproduction direction of each recording layer 101. In this case, the BCA 101 a is formed on the inner periphery of the optical disc 100.

  According to this configuration, since the layer identification information is recorded on the start position side when data recording or data reproduction is performed, the layer identification information is obtained from the BCA 101a, and the recording layer 101 that performs data recording or data reproduction is provided. After the identification, the moving distance to the predetermined recording position or reproduction position of the user data recording area 101c of the recording layer 101 can be reduced. Therefore, after the recording layer 101 is identified, the position can be accessed quickly. That is, it is possible to shorten the processing time from acquisition of the layer identification information to data recording or data reproduction on the predetermined recording layer 101.

  Further, the layer identification information is recorded in the BCA 101a, that is, the layer identification information is recorded in a place other than the user data recording area 101c. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the recording capacity of the user data recording area 101c from being reduced due to the recording of the layer identification information.

  Here, the recording area of the layer identification information is not limited to the BCA 101a, and any recording area other than the management information recording areas 101b and 101d and the user data recording area 101c can be recorded in the user data recording area 101c as described above. A reduction in capacity can be prevented. If the recording area of the layer identification information is a specific area where data can be read without tracking, the optical disc apparatus 1 can acquire the layer identification information without tracking. Therefore, the layer identification information can be acquired in a short time.

  On the other hand, when the recording area of the layer identification information, that is, the non-data recording area and the specific area described above are the BCA 101a, the layer identification information can be recorded as the BCA code as described above. That is, after forming the recording layer 101, a part of the recording layer 101 is removed using a laser marker, or by using a negative pattern as a mask and a method of forming the recording layer 101 using a sputtering method or the like through this mask, Layer identification information can be recorded. Therefore, when the layer identification information is recorded in the BCA 101a, the layer identification information that does not require tracking can be easily recorded using the existing method.

  Further, since the BCA 101a is an area where the reproduction light is first irradiated when accessing each recording layer 101, recording the layer identification information in the BCA 101a makes it possible to record the data to be recorded or reproduced. (Designated layer) can be grasped quickly.

  If these points are not taken into consideration, layer identification information may be recorded in the non-data recording area or the specific area other than the BCA 101a as described above.

<Other discs>
In the present embodiment, the optical disc 100 is described as an example of the information recording medium to be processed by the optical disc apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the disc may include a virtual layer. Good.

  For example, it may be a holographic layer including a holographic layer in which data can be recorded and an aluminum layer in which management information (control information) including layer identification information and a track location is recorded. In this case, the optical disc apparatus 1 can record data on a predetermined holographic layer or read data by reading management information including layer identification information from the aluminum layer.

  Similar to the optical disc 100, in this hologram disc, the position of the management information recording area is set at the inner or outer peripheral portion of the hologram disc in accordance with the recording direction or the reproducing direction of the holographic layer. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the processing time from the reception of the data recording instruction or the reproduction instruction to the data recording or the data reproduction. In this hologram disc, the direction identification information is recorded, for example, on the innermost circumference side of the aluminum layer (the region where the optical disc apparatus 1 irradiates the reproduction light first after loading the disc).

<Configuration of Control Unit 20>
Next, a schematic configuration of the control unit 20 included in the optical disc apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the control unit 20. In the following description, when “accessing” and “recording” or “reproducing”, a member that executes the processing controls the recording / reproducing circuit group 10, thereby recording laser light, reproducing laser light, and The optical head 11 is controlled so that servo laser light can be irradiated to a predetermined recording or reproducing position of the optical disc 100 with a predetermined output.

  The control unit 20 mainly includes a direction identification information acquisition unit 21, a BCA position confirmation unit 22, a layer identification information acquisition unit 23 (layer identification information acquisition unit), a designated layer determination unit 24, a recording / playback condition adjustment unit 25, and a data recording A playback unit 26 (recording / playback means) is provided. The control unit 20 controls members constituting the optical disc apparatus 1 by executing a control program, for example. The control unit 20 reads the program stored in the storage unit 3 into a temporary recording unit (not shown) configured by, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and executes it, thereby performing a position confirmation process and recording of the BCA 101a. Various processes such as a condition or reproduction condition adjustment process, various data recording or reproduction processes are performed.

  After the optical disc 100 is inserted into the optical disc apparatus 1 and the direction identification information acquisition unit 21 receives an instruction to record or reproduce data on a specific recording layer 101 of the optical disc 100, the direction identification information acquisition unit 21 records or reproduces each recording layer 101. Is obtained (read out) from the direction identification information recording area 106. The direction identification information acquisition unit 21 transmits the acquired direction identification information to the BCA position confirmation unit 22.

  The BCA position confirmation unit 22 analyzes the received direction identification information and confirms the position of the BCA 101 a of each recording layer 101 associated with the recording direction or the reproduction direction of each recording layer 101. Then, the BCA position confirmation unit 22 transmits the confirmation result to the layer identification information acquisition unit 23.

  The layer identification information acquisition unit 23 accesses the recording layer 101 that seems to be the designated layer, acquires layer identification information from the BCA 101 a of the recording layer 101 based on the received confirmation result, and transmits the layer identification information to the designated layer determination unit 24. Here, the “recording layer that seems to be a designated layer” is a recording layer 101 that is regarded as a predetermined recording layer (designated layer) included in the recording instruction or the reproduction instruction, and a difference in reflectance between the recording layers 101. The recording layer is regarded as the recording layer indicated by the recording instruction or the reproducing instruction based on the above. Further, the recording instruction or the reproduction instruction includes initialization of the optical disc 100.

  As described above, the BCA 101a is disposed in front of the user data recording area 101c with respect to the recording direction or the reproduction direction. Then, layer identification information is recorded in the BCA 101a. Therefore, the time from the identification of the recording layer using the layer identification information to the data recording or data reproduction with respect to the user data recording area 101c can be shortened.

  The designated layer determination unit 24 determines whether or not the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information acquired by the layer identification information acquisition unit 23 is a recording layer (a recording layer to which data recording or data reproduction is to be performed) indicated by a recording instruction or a reproduction instruction. This is a judgment. That is, the designated layer determination unit 24 checks whether or not the currently accessed recording layer (current layer position) matches the designated layer. Then, the determination result is transmitted to the recording / reproducing condition adjusting unit 25.

  The recording / reproducing condition adjusting unit 25 analyzes the determination result, and adjusts the recording condition or reproducing condition for the designated layer if the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information is the designated layer.

  The recording / playback condition adjustment unit 25 accesses a predetermined area (OPC execution area) of the management information recording area 101b or 101d of the designated layer when adjusting the recording condition. Then, the recording / reproducing condition adjusting unit 25 performs test writing by changing the power of the recording light (recording power) step by step in order to enable data recording to the recording layer as the designated layer ( That is, the optimum recording condition is adjusted), and the optimum recording power is determined as the recording condition by the trial writing. The recording / reproducing condition adjusting unit 25 records the determined recording condition as recording condition information (optimum recording condition information) in the OPC execution area.

  If the BCA 101a is arranged in the management information recording area 101b or 101d on the start point side in the recording direction, the processing time from execution of OPC to data recording in the user data recording area 101c can be shortened.

  Further, when adjusting the reproduction condition, the recording / reproduction condition adjusting unit 25 reads the reproduction condition information recorded in the management information recording area 101b or 101d, and the optical disc apparatus 1 reads the data in the user data recording area 101c. If the reproduction condition is not satisfied, the reproduction condition is changed. When the reproduction condition is adjusted, the reproduction condition information indicating the reproduction condition after the adjustment is recorded in the management information recording area 101b or 101d instead of the read reproduction condition information.

  When the adjustment of the recording condition or the reproducing condition is completed, the recording / reproducing condition adjusting unit 25 notifies the data recording / reproducing unit 26 that the adjustment is completed.

  In response to the notification, the data recording / reproducing unit 26 records the data (user data) included in the recording instruction received when the optical disc 100 is inserted into the optical disc apparatus 1, or the recording layer designated by the reproducing instruction. Data reproduction from a predetermined position 101 is performed. The data recording / reproducing unit 26 accesses a predetermined recording position (recording start position) of the user data recording area 101c of the recording layer determined to be the designated layer and records the data, or predetermined data in the user data recording area 101c. The reproduction position (reproduction start position) is accessed, and the data recorded in the user data recording area 101c is reproduced.

  That is, the data recording / reproducing unit 26 performs data recording or data reproduction on the user data recording area 101c of the recording layer 101 indicated by the layer identification information acquired by the layer identification information acquiring unit 23.

  In addition, the storage unit 3 records (1) a control program for each unit, (2) an OS program, (3) an application program, and (4) various data to be read when these programs are executed. To do. The control unit 20 is configured by a non-volatile recording device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) flash memory. The temporary storage unit described above is configured by a volatile recording device such as a RAM. However, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 3 may be described as having the function of a temporary storage unit. .

<Processing Flow in Optical Disc 100>
Next, the flow of processing in the optical disc apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing.

  As shown in the figure, an optical disc 100 is inserted into the optical disc apparatus 1 (S1), and a recording instruction for recording data on a predetermined recording layer, for example, via an operation unit (not shown), or the recording layer When there is an instruction to reproduce the data recorded on the disk (S2), the direction identification information acquisition unit 21 acquires the direction identification information from the direction identification information recording area 106 of the guide layer 102A of the optical disc 100. (S3). The BCA position confirmation unit 22 analyzes the direction identification information acquired by the direction identification information acquisition unit 21, and confirms the position of the BCA 101a of each recording layer 101 (S4).

  Based on the confirmation result, the layer identification information acquisition unit 23 accesses the BCA 101a of the recording layer 101 that seems to be the designated layer (S5), and acquires the layer identification information from the BCA 101a (S6).

  The designated layer determination unit 24 determines whether or not the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information acquired by the layer identification information acquisition unit 23 matches the specified layer (the recording layer included in the recording instruction or the reproduction instruction) (S7). ). When the designated layer judging unit 24 judges that the designated layer is selected (YES in S7), the recording / reproducing condition adjusting unit 25 adjusts the recording condition or reproducing condition of the designated layer (S8).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information is not the designated layer (NO in S7), the layer identification information acquisition unit 23 newly selects a recording layer that is considered to be the designated layer, The recording layer is accessed (S5). For example, the recording layer that is considered to be the designated layer is selected by analogy with the layer identification information of the currently accessed recording layer. This selection is performed until it matches the designated layer.

  After the process of S8, the data recording / reproducing unit 26 accesses a predetermined recording position or reproducing position of the user data recording area 101c (S9), and records the data included in the recording instruction at the recording position. Data reproduction from the reproduction position is performed (S10).

  As described above, the optical disc apparatus 1 acquires the layer identification information from the BCA 101a arranged on the inner peripheral portion or the outer peripheral portion of the recording layer 101 according to the recording direction or the reproducing direction of the recording layer 101, and the layer identification Data recording or data reproduction can be performed on the recording layer 101 indicated by the information. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the processing time from acquisition of the layer identification information to data recording or data reproduction.

[Embodiment 2]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Note that members similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate. For example, the schematic configuration of the optical disc apparatus 1 is the same, and the processing of the optical disc apparatus 1 for the optical disc 100a (information recording medium) is the same as the processing described in the first embodiment. Omitted.

<Configuration of Optical Disc 100a>
(Laminated structure)
An optical disc 100a according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a schematic configuration of the optical disc 100a will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a laminated structure of the optical disc 100a.

  As shown, the optical disc 100a includes guide layers 102A and 102B, recording layers 101A to 101D (first recording layer group and second recording layer group), and intermediate layers 103A to 103A between the substrate 105 and the cover layer 104. 103E. Specifically, from the substrate 105, the guide layer 102A, the intermediate layer 103A, the guide layer 102B, the intermediate layer 103B, the recording layer 101A, the intermediate layer 103C, the recording layer 101B, the intermediate layer 103D, the recording layer 101C, the intermediate layer 103E, the recording The layer 101D and the cover layer 104 are laminated in this order.

  The optical disc 100a differs from the optical disc 100 of the first embodiment in that it includes two guide layers 102. That is, the optical disc 100a has a guide layer 102 in which a tracking direction is defined corresponding to a recording direction or reproduction direction from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side, and a recording direction or reproduction direction from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side. Corresponding to the guide layer 102 in which the tracking direction is defined. In other words, the optical disc 100a is provided with the two guide layers 102, so that the recording layers 101 having the two directions are mixed.

  In FIG. 6, the optical disc 100a is composed of four recording layers 101A to 101D, but the recording layer 101 is not limited to this, and may be composed of a plurality of layers. Further, it is sufficient that the intermediate layer 103 is provided between the recording layers 101, between the guide layers 102, and between the recording layer 101 and the cover layer 104. In this case, the number of intermediate layers 103 is the number of the recording layers 101. One more than the number. Further, the guide layer 102 may not be two layers but three or more layers.

(Details of recording layer 101 and guide layer 102)
Next, details of the recording layer 101 and the guide layer 102 of the optical disc 100a according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the optical disc 100a for explaining the optical disc 100a according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram of the configuration of the optical disc 100a of FIG. 6 with the intermediate layers 103A to 103E, the cover layer 104, and the substrate 105 omitted from illustration.

  Here, in FIG. 7, among the recording layers 101A to 101D of the optical disc 100a, the recording layer 101A and the recording layer 101C are the first recording layer group. The recording direction or the reproducing direction of the first recording layer group is a direction from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side. The recording direction or reproducing direction of the first recording layer group is defined as a first recording direction or a first reproducing direction, respectively. On the other hand, among the recording layers 101A to 101D of the optical disc 100a, the recording layer 101B and the recording layer 101D are a second recording layer group (a recording layer group other than the first recording layer group). The recording direction or the reproducing direction of the second recording layer group is a direction from the outer peripheral side toward the inner peripheral side. The recording direction or reproducing direction of the second recording layer group is defined as a second recording direction or a second reproducing direction, respectively.

  The first recording direction or the first reproduction direction of the recording layers 101A and 101C corresponds to the direction of tracking performed on the guide layer 102A, and the second recording direction or the second recording direction of the recording layers 101B and 101D. The reproduction direction corresponds to the direction of tracking performed on the guide layer 102B. In the recording layers 101A and 101C, the BCA 101a is disposed on the inner periphery of the optical disc 100a that is the starting point side in the first recording direction or the first reproduction direction, and in the recording layers 101B and 101D, the second recording direction or the second reproduction is performed. A BCA 101a is arranged on the outer periphery of the optical disc 100 on the starting point side in the direction.

  That is, in the direction identification information recorded in the direction identification information recording area 106, the recording layers 101A and 101C, the first recording direction or the first reproduction direction, and the guide in which the tracking direction corresponding to this direction is defined. The layer 102A is associated with the position of the BCA 101a being the inner periphery of the optical disc 100. In the direction identification information, the recording layers 101B and 101D, the second recording direction or the second reproducing direction, the guide layer 102B in which the tracking direction corresponding to this direction is defined, and the position of the BCA 101a are the optical discs. 100 peripheral portions are associated with each other.

  In other words, the optical disc 100a of this embodiment includes a plurality of recording layers 101 (four layers in FIG. 7), two guide layers 102, and the direction of tracking performed on one of the guide layers 102. Corresponds to the first recording direction or the first reproduction direction, and the direction of tracking performed on the other of the guide layers 102 corresponds to the second recording direction or the second reproduction direction. ing.

  According to the above configuration, in a configuration including two guide layers 102 and a plurality of recording layers 101, data recording or data reproduction can be appropriately performed on each of the recording layers 101. That is, by providing two guide layers 102, it is possible to realize an optical disc 100a including a plurality of recording layers 101 in which two types of recording directions or reproduction directions are defined.

  In addition, since a plurality of recording layers 101 with two types of recording directions or reproduction directions are provided, the position of the BCA 101a is set according to each recording direction or reproduction direction. Therefore, the degree of freedom of the arrangement position of the BCA 101a as the recording area of the layer identification information can be expanded as compared with the configuration in which the guide layer 102 is one.

  In the configuration of FIG. 7, the recording direction or reproduction direction of the recording layers 101A and 101C is the first recording direction or the first reproduction direction, and the recording direction or reproduction direction of the recording layers 101B and 101D adjacent thereto is the second recording direction. The recording direction or the second reproduction direction. That is, the recording direction or the reproducing direction of the adjacent recording layers 101 is set to be alternate. Therefore, the recording layer is smoothly moved from the position where data recording or data reproduction to a certain recording layer 101 is completed to the position where data recording or data reproduction to the adjacent recording layer 101 is started. Even if it increases, the interlayer movement at the time of data recording / reproduction can be performed quickly.

  Of course, the combination of the recording direction or the reproduction direction of each recording layer 101 is not limited to the above. That is, it suffices that a part of the recording layers functions as the first recording layer group and the other recording layers function as the second recording layer group, and the number of recording layers included in these recording layer groups is the same. It does not have to be. Further, as in the first embodiment, all of the recording layers 101 may be in the same recording direction or reproduction direction. In this case, the number of recording layers included in the first recording layer group or the second recording layer group is zero.

  Further, in FIG. 7, the direction identification information recording area 106 is disposed on the guide layer 102A, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the direction identification information recording area 106 may be disposed on the guide layer 102B. Similar to the first embodiment, the direction identification information recording area 106 only needs to exist at a position where the reproduction laser beam is first irradiated after loading the disk.

  In this embodiment, the direction identification information is recorded in the direction identification information recording area 106 of the guide layer 102A, and the optical disc apparatus 1 specifies the position of the BCA 101a of each recording layer 101 using this information. The identification method is merely an example. As described in the first embodiment, the direction identification information may not be recorded in the direction identification information recording area 106 of the guide layer 102A. That is, the optical disc apparatus 1 may not be configured to specify the position of the BCA 101a of each recording layer 101 (recording position of the layer identification information) based on the direction identification information, and the position information indicating the position of the BCA 101a is read and specified. May be. Further, the position of the BCA 101a may be specified by searching instead of specifying the position information.

[Embodiment 3]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In addition, about the member similar to Embodiment 1, 2, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted suitably. As in the second embodiment, the schematic configuration of the optical disc apparatus 1 is the same, and the processing of the optical disc apparatus 1 for the optical disc 100b (information recording medium) is the same as the processing described in the first embodiment. These descriptions are omitted.

<Configuration of optical disc 100b>
(Laminated structure)
An optical disc 100b according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. First, a schematic configuration of the optical disc 100b will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a laminated structure of the optical disc 100b.

  As illustrated, the optical disc 100b includes guide layers 102A and 102B, recording layers 101A to 101F (first recording layer group and second recording layer group), and intermediate layers 103A to 103A between the substrate 105 and the cover layer 104. 103G. Specifically, from the substrate 105, the guide layer 102A, the intermediate layer 103A, the guide layer 102B, the intermediate layer 103B, the recording layer 101A, the intermediate layer 103C, the recording layer 101B, the intermediate layer 103D, the recording layer 101C, the intermediate layer 103E, the recording The layer 101D, the intermediate layer 103F, the recording layer 101E, the intermediate layer 103G, the recording layer 101F, and the cover layer 104 are laminated in this order.

  The optical disc 100b has six recording layers 101, and the recording layers 101 included in the first recording layer group and the recording layers 101 included in the second recording layer group are not alternately arranged (see FIG. 9). Different from the optical disc 100a.

  In the optical disc 100b, the recording layer 101 is composed of six recording layers 101A to 101F in FIG. 8, but the recording layer 101 is not limited to this and may be composed of a plurality of layers. Similarly to the second embodiment, it is sufficient that the intermediate layer 103 is provided between the recording layers 101, between the guide layers 102, and between the recording layer 101 and the cover layer 104. The number 103 is one more than the number of recording layers 101. Further, the guide layer 102 may not be two layers but three or more layers.

(Details of recording layer 101 and guide layer 102)
Next, the details of the recording layer 101 and the guide layer 102 of the optical disc 100b according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the optical disc 100b for explaining the optical disc 100b according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram of the configuration of the optical disc 100b of FIG. 8 with the intermediate layers 103A to 103G, the cover layer 104, and the substrate 105 omitted from illustration.

  In the optical disc 100b, among the recording layers 101A to 101F, the recording layer 101A and the recording layers 101C to 101E are used as a first recording layer group. The first recording direction or the first reproduction direction of the first recording layer group is a direction from the inner peripheral side toward the outer peripheral side. On the other hand, among the recording layers 101A to 101F of the optical disc 100b, the recording layer 101B and the recording layer 101F are used as the second recording layer group. The second recording direction or the second reproduction direction of the second recording layer group is a direction from the outer peripheral side toward the inner peripheral side.

  The first recording direction or first reproduction direction of the recording layers 101A, 101C to 101E corresponds to the direction of tracking performed on the guide layer 102A, and the second recording direction of the recording layers 101B and 101F or The second reproduction direction corresponds to the direction of tracking performed on the guide layer 102B. Further, in the recording layers 101A, 101C to 101E, the BCA 101a is disposed on the inner peripheral portion of the optical disc 100b that is the starting point side in the first recording direction or the first reproducing direction, and in the recording layers 101B and 101F, the second recording direction or the second recording direction. The BCA 101a is arranged on the outer periphery of the optical disc 100b that is the starting point side in the two playback directions.

  That is, the direction identification information recorded in the direction identification information recording area 106 defines the recording layers 101A, 101C to 101E, the first recording direction or the first reproduction direction, and the tracking direction corresponding to this direction. The guide layer 102A is associated with the position of the BCA 101a at the inner periphery of the optical disc 100b. In the direction identification information, the recording layers 101B and 101F, the second recording direction or the second reproducing direction, the guide layer 102B in which the tracking direction corresponding to this direction is defined, and the position of the BCA 101a are the optical discs. It is associated with the outer peripheral portion of 100b.

  Therefore, even in the case of this configuration, as in the second embodiment, it is possible to realize an optical disc 100b including a plurality of recording layers 101 in which two types of recording directions or reproduction directions are defined, and a guide layer. Compared with the configuration in which the number 102 is one, the degree of freedom of the arrangement position of the BCA 101a as the recording area of the layer identification information can be expanded.

  Also, by providing two guide layers 102, a plurality of recording layers 101 having different recording directions or reproducing directions can be stacked regardless of the stacking order.

  In this embodiment, the direction identification information is recorded in the direction identification information recording area 106 of the guide layer 102A, and the optical disc apparatus 1 specifies the position of the BCA 101a of each recording layer 101 using this information. The identification method is merely an example. As described in the first and second embodiments, the direction identification information may not be recorded in the direction identification information recording area 106 of the guide layer 102A. That is, the optical disc apparatus 1 may not be configured to specify the position of the BCA 101a of each recording layer 101 (recording position of the layer identification information) based on the direction identification information, and the position information indicating the position of the BCA 101a is read and specified. May be. Further, the position of the BCA 101a may be specified by searching instead of specifying the position information.

[Summary]
An information recording medium according to an aspect of the present invention is an information recording medium having a recording layer that does not include a track and a guide layer that includes a guide track for tracking, and is a user capable of recording data The position of the non-data recording area, which is an area other than the management information recording area capable of recording the management information for managing the data recording area and the recording layer, is the recording direction when performing data recording on the recording layer or It is set at the inner or outer periphery of the recording layer according to the playback direction when data playback is performed, and layer identification information for identifying the recording layer is recorded in the non-data recording area. Yes.

  According to the above configuration, the position of the non-data recording area is set on the inner or outer periphery of the recording layer in accordance with the recording direction or the reproduction direction, and the layer identification information is recorded in the non-data recording area. Yes. That is, the layer identification information can be recorded in consideration of the start position when data recording or reproduction is performed. Therefore, in the information recording medium (so-called guide layer separation type information recording medium) having the recording layer and the guide layer, the layer identification information is obtained after receiving the data recording instruction or the reproducing instruction to the recording layer. It is possible to shorten the processing time until the recording is performed and the processing time from acquisition of the layer identification information to data recording or data reproduction on the recording layer.

  That is, the information recording medium of the present invention can shorten the processing time until data recording or data reproduction on the recording layer.

  In the first embodiment, the position of the BCA 101a on which the layer identification information is recorded is set on the inner periphery of the optical disc 100 according to the recording direction or the reproduction direction of the recording layer 101. On the other hand, in the second and third embodiments, the position of the BCA 101a on which the layer identification information is recorded is set on the inner or outer periphery of the optical discs 100a and 100b according to the recording direction or the reproduction direction of the recording layer 101. Yes.

  Here, the configuration of a general guide layer separation type optical disc 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a guide layer separation type optical disc 200 as a comparative example of the optical discs 100, 100a, and 100b.

  The optical disc 200 includes a recording layer 201 and a guide layer 202. Each recording layer 201 is provided with a BCA 201a, a management information recording area 201b, a user data recording area 201c, and a management information recording area 201d. The functions of these layers and areas basically correspond to the recording layer 101, guide layer 102, BCA 101a, management information recording area 101b, user data recording area 101c, and management information recording area 101d described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the specific description thereof is omitted.

  The optical disc 200 is different from the optical disc 100 or the like in that the BCA 201a is disposed only on the inner peripheral side of the recording layer 201 adjacent to the guide layer 202, and layer identification information is not recorded on the BCA 201a.

  Therefore, in this optical disc 200, in order to identify each recording layer, the reflectance of each recording layer 201 is changed, and the recording / reproducing apparatus identifies each recording layer 201 by detecting the difference in reflectance. become. However, although it is possible to identify at the prototype level using the evaluator, if it is assumed that the optical disc is mass-produced and information is recorded or reproduced in various recording / reproducing apparatuses, It is difficult to identify.

  Further, since each recording layer 201 is not provided with the BCA 201a, the layer identification information cannot be recorded in accordance with the recording direction or the reproducing direction of each recording layer 201 as in the optical disc 100 or the like.

  Therefore, in the optical disc 200, it can be said that it is difficult to shorten the processing time until data recording or reproduction after correctly identifying each recording layer 201.

  On the other hand, in the optical disc 100 or the like according to the present embodiment, a non-data recording area in which layer identification information is recorded (an example of this area is BCA 101a) is arranged according to the recording direction or the reproducing direction of the recording layer 101. Therefore, unlike the optical disc 200, it is possible to shorten the processing time until data recording or reproduction after correctly identifying each recording layer 101.

  Furthermore, in the information recording medium according to one aspect of the present invention, the layer identification information is preferably recorded in a specific area in the non-data recording area where data can be read without performing tracking.

  According to the above configuration, the layer identification information can be acquired without performing tracking. Therefore, the layer identification information can be acquired in a shorter time.

  Furthermore, in the information recording medium according to one aspect of the present invention, the non-data recording area is preferably a BCA (Burst Cutting Area).

  According to the said structure, layer identification information can be easily recorded using the existing method.

  Furthermore, in the information recording medium according to an aspect of the present invention, when the recording direction or the reproduction direction is a direction from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side of the information recording medium, the non-data recording area is The non-data recording area is formed on the inner periphery of the information recording medium, and the non-data recording area is the information recording medium when the recording direction or the reproducing direction is a direction from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side of the information recording medium. It is preferable that it is formed on the outer peripheral side.

  According to the above configuration, since the layer identification information is recorded on the start position side when data recording or data reproduction is performed, the layer identification information is acquired from the non-data recording area, and the data recording or data reproduction is performed. After the layer is specified, the moving distance to the predetermined recording position or reproducing position of the user data recording area of the recording layer can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to quickly access the position after identifying the recording layer. That is, it is possible to further shorten the processing time from acquisition of the layer identification information to data recording or data reproduction.

  Furthermore, the information recording medium according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of the recording layers and one guide layer, and the direction of tracking performed on the guide layer is the recording direction or the reproduction. The recording direction or the reproduction direction of each of the recording layers is preferably the same as each other.

  According to the above configuration, the direction of tracking performed on the guide layer corresponds to the recording direction or reproducing direction of the recording layer, and the recording direction or reproducing direction of each recording layer is the same. Therefore, the recording / reproducing apparatus can appropriately perform data recording or data reproduction for each of the recording layers in a configuration including one guide layer and a plurality of recording layers.

  Furthermore, the information recording medium according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of the recording layers, two guide layers, and each of the recording layers included in the first recording layer group of the recording layers. The recording direction or the reproducing direction is the first recording direction or the first reproducing direction, respectively, and the recording direction or each recording layer included in the second recording layer group which is a recording layer group other than the first recording layer group When the playback direction is the second recording direction or the second playback direction, respectively, the tracking direction performed on one of the guide layers corresponds to the first recording direction or the first playback direction. In addition, it is preferable that the direction of the tracking performed on the other of the guide layers corresponds to the second recording direction or the second reproduction direction.

  According to the above configuration, the direction of tracking performed on one guide layer corresponds to the first recording direction or the first reproduction direction of each recording layer included in the first recording layer group. The direction of tracking performed on the guide layer corresponds to the second recording direction or the second reproduction direction of each recording layer included in the second recording layer group. Therefore, in a configuration including two guide layers and a plurality of recording layers, data recording or data reproduction can be appropriately performed on each of the recording layers. That is, by providing two guide layers, an information recording medium including a plurality of recording layers in which two types of recording directions or reproducing directions are defined can be realized.

  In addition, since a plurality of recording layers in which two types of recording directions or reproduction directions are defined are provided, the position of the non-data recording area is set according to each recording direction or reproduction direction. Therefore, the degree of freedom of the arrangement position of the non-data recording area as the recording area of the layer identification information can be expanded as compared with the configuration with one guide layer.

  Furthermore, a recording / reproducing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a recording / reproducing apparatus that records or reproduces information on the information recording medium described above, and is recorded in the non-data recording area of the recording layer. Layer identification information acquisition means for acquiring the layer identification information, and recording for performing data recording or data reproduction on the user data recording area of the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information acquired by the layer identification information acquisition means And a reproducing means.

  Furthermore, a control method for a recording / reproducing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is a control method for a recording / reproducing apparatus that records or reproduces information on the information recording medium described above, wherein A layer identification information acquisition step for acquiring the layer identification information recorded in the data recording area, and data recording on the user data recording area of the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information acquired in the layer identification information acquisition step Or a recording / reproducing step for performing data reproduction.

  According to the above configuration, the layer identification information is acquired from the non-data recording area arranged in the inner or outer peripheral portion of the recording layer according to the recording direction or the reproducing direction of the recording layer, and the layer identification information indicates Data recording or data reproduction can be performed on the recording layer. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the processing time from acquisition of the layer identification information to data recording or data reproduction.

  Furthermore, a control program for operating the recording / reproducing apparatus, a control program for causing a computer to function as each of the above-described means, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the control program are also within the technical scope of the present invention. included.

  According to the control program, the recording / reproducing apparatus can be realized on the computer by realizing the above means on the computer. Further, according to the recording medium, the control program read from the recording medium can be realized on a general-purpose computer.

[Example of software implementation]
Finally, each block of the optical disc apparatus 1 and each unit of the control unit 20 may be realized in hardware by a logic circuit formed on an integrated circuit (IC chip), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit) is used. It may be realized by software.

  In the latter case, the optical disc apparatus 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program, the program, and various types of programs. A recording device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing data is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium in which a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a control program of the optical disc apparatus 1 which is software that realizes the above-described functions is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. This can also be achieved by supplying the optical disc apparatus 1 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

  Examples of the recording medium include non-transitory tangible medium, such as magnetic tape and cassette tape, magnetic disk such as floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and CD-ROM / MO. Discs including optical discs such as / MD / DVD / CD-R, cards such as IC cards (including memory cards) / optical cards, semiconductor memories such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM (registered trademark) / flash ROM Alternatively, logic circuits such as PLD (Programmable Logic Device) and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) can be used.

  Further, the optical disc apparatus 1 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited as long as it can transmit the program code. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, and the like can be used. The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, even with wired lines such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), IEEE 802.11 wireless, HDR ( It can also be used by radio such as High Data Rate (NFC), Near Field Communication (NFC), Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), mobile phone network, satellite line, and digital terrestrial network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  Since the present invention can perform data recording or data reproduction in a guide layer separation type optical disc in a short time, it can be suitably used for the guide layer separation type optical disc in general.

1 Optical disk device (recording / reproducing device)
23 layer identification information acquisition unit (layer identification information acquisition means)
26 Data recording / reproducing unit (recording / reproducing means)
100 Optical disc (information recording medium)
100a Optical disc (information recording medium)
100b Optical disc (information recording medium)
101 recording layer (first recording layer group, second recording layer group)
101A recording layer (first recording layer group, second recording layer group)
101B Recording layer (first recording layer group, second recording layer group)
101C recording layer (first recording layer group, second recording layer group)
101D recording layer (first recording layer group, second recording layer group)
101E recording layer (first recording layer group, second recording layer group)
101F recording layer (first recording layer group, second recording layer group)
101a BCA (non-data recording area, specific area)
101b management information recording area 101c user data recording area 101d management information recording area 102 guide layer 102A guide layer 102B guide layer T guide track

Claims (10)

An information recording medium having a recording layer not provided with a track, and a guide layer provided with a guide track for tracking,
The position of a non-data recording area that is an area other than a user data recording area where data can be recorded and a management information recording area where management information for managing the recording layer can be recorded is recorded on the recording layer. According to the recording direction at the time of performing or the reproducing direction at the time of data reproduction is set to the inner periphery or the outer periphery of the recording layer,
An information recording medium, wherein layer identification information for identifying the recording layer is recorded in the non-data recording area.   The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the layer identification information is recorded in a specific area of the non-data recording area where data can be read without performing tracking.   The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the non-data recording area is a BCA (Burst Cutting Area). When the recording direction or the reproduction direction is a direction from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side of the information recording medium, the non-data recording area is formed in the inner circumference portion of the information recording medium,
When the recording direction or the reproduction direction is a direction from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side of the information recording medium, the non-data recording area is formed on the outer peripheral part of the information recording medium. The information recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A plurality of the recording layers and a single guide layer,
The direction of the tracking performed on the guide layer corresponds to the recording direction or the reproduction direction,
The information recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the recording direction or the reproduction direction of each of the recording layers is the same. A plurality of the recording layers, and two guide layers,
The recording direction or the reproduction direction of each of the recording layers included in the first recording layer group of the recording layers is defined as a first recording direction or a first reproduction direction, respectively.
When the recording direction or the reproduction direction of each of the recording layers included in the second recording layer group that is a recording layer group other than the first recording layer group is the second recording direction or the second reproduction direction, respectively.
The direction of the tracking performed on one of the guide layers corresponds to the first recording direction or the first reproduction direction,
The information recording medium according to claim 4, wherein a direction of the tracking performed on the other of the guide layers corresponds to the second recording direction or the second reproduction direction. A recording / reproducing apparatus for recording or reproducing information with respect to the information recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Layer identification information acquisition means for acquiring the layer identification information recorded in the non-data recording area of the recording layer;
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: recording / reproducing means for performing data recording or data reproduction on the user data recording area of the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information obtained by the layer identification information obtaining means; . A control method for a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording or reproducing information on an information recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A layer identification information acquisition step for acquiring the layer identification information recorded in the non-data recording area of the recording layer;
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a recording / reproducing step for performing data recording or data reproduction on the user data recording area of the recording layer indicated by the layer identification information obtained in the layer identification information obtaining step. Method.   8. A control program for operating the recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 7 for causing a computer to function as each of the above means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to claim 9 is recorded.

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