JP4108730B2 - Optical recording medium, optical recording / reproducing method, and reproducing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical recording medium having a plurality of recordable information recording layers and an optical recording / reproducing method.

  In recent years, development of an optical recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording a large amount of information such as a digital moving image and enabling random access has been advanced. Further, increasing the density of an optical disk used as a recording medium of such an optical recording / reproducing apparatus has been studied from various angles.

  In optical recording / reproducing apparatuses, for example, studies are being made in the direction of increasing the recording density by increasing the numerical aperture of the objective lens and shortening the wavelength of the light source, thereby reducing the diameter of the light beam spot. Thereby, the recording capacity of the optical disk is increasing year by year. In addition, in a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc for Read Only Memory) as an optical disc, a technology for doubling the disc capacity by a two-layer technology has been established.

  Furthermore, the increase in the density of optical discs with two information recording layers that can be recorded and reproduced is disclosed in the Joint International Symposium on Optical Memory and Optical Data Storage 1999, and the document name “A 16.8GDB Double-Decker Phase Change” Disc ".

In the optical disc described in the above document, the two information recording layers are each composed of a phase change material. Such an optical disc includes a low-to-high medium in which the recording mark portion has a higher reflectance than the space portion between the recording mark portions, and conversely, a high-to-low medium in which the space portion has a higher reflectance than the recording mark portion. In any of these media, reproduction is performed by utilizing the change in the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light depending on whether the phase change material is in a polycrystalline state or an amorphous state. An optical disk using the phase change material as described above is also disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2001-52342.
JP 2001-52342 A JP 2000-285469 A JP 09-231613 A "A 16.8GDB Double-Decker Phase Change Disc" (Joint International Symposium on Optical Memory and Optical Data Storage 1999)

  However, for example, in a high-low medium in which the space portion has a higher reflectance than the recording mark portion, a mark row composed of an amorphous region having a low reflectance is formed along the guide groove in the region where recording has been completed. Will be. In such an optical disc, the first information recording layer present at a position close to the light incident side and the second information recording layer present at a position far from the light incident side are incident light from the same side. Is recorded and reproduced. That is, the second information recording layer is recorded and reproduced by the light beam that has passed through the first information recording layer. Therefore, when recording / reproducing is performed on the second information recording layer, the first information recording layer is transmitted depending on whether the first information recording layer is in a recording state or an unrecorded state. Thus, the intensity of the light beam reaching the second information recording layer is different, and the recording power sensitivity and the reproduction power sensitivity for the second information recording layer are different.

  For this reason, when performing recording / reproduction with respect to the second information recording layer, it is necessary to determine the light beam intensity at the time of recording and reproduction after detecting the recording state of the first information recording layer. Therefore, the recording / reproducing system becomes complicated. As a result, an optical recording / reproducing system using such an optical disc has a problem that it is extremely unrealistic.

  Therefore, the present invention uses a complex recording / reproducing system even when the light transmittance in the recordable area of the first information recording layer varies depending on whether or not the recordable area has been recorded. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical recording medium and an optical recording / reproducing method that can irradiate light with uniform intensity to almost all recordable areas of the second information recording layer.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the recording medium of the present invention is a light in which a plurality of information recording layers are stacked and information can be recorded and reproduced independently for each information recording layer by light incident from one side. In the recording medium, among the plurality of information recording layers, the one on the light incident side is the first information recording layer, and the one adjacent to the first information recording layer on the side opposite to the light incident side is the second. In the stacking direction of the first and second information recording layers, the recordable area in the first information recording layer is more than the area overlapping the recordable area of the second information recording layer. The extended area has an extended area, and the width of the extended area is such that when the light incident from one side is condensed on the end of the recordable area of the second information recording layer, The recordable area including the extended area of the first information recording layer is transmitted. Is set to, the expansion region is characterized in that space is allocated for trial writing.

  The recording medium is formed in a disk shape, and when the light incident from the one side is condensed on the innermost end or the outermost end in the recordable area of the second information recording layer, A configuration may be adopted in which a length in the radial direction of the extension area is set so that the light passes through a recordable area including the extension area of the first information recording layer.

  The recording medium is formed in a disc shape, and the length in the radial direction of the extended region is the thickness of the intermediate layer between the first information recording layer and the second information recording layer, and the first It is good also as a structure set more than the length which added the eccentric width between an information recording layer and a 2nd information recording layer.

[Reference example]
A reference example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the optical disc (optical recording medium) 1 has a center hole 2 at the center, and has a recordable area 3 on the outer side in the radial direction with respect to the center hole 2. In the recordable area 3, guide grooves for recording / reproduction are formed in a spiral shape so that information can be recorded / reproduced. The innermost peripheral edge 4 and the outermost peripheral edge 5 of the recordable area 3 are indicated by broken lines.

  As shown in FIG. 3 which is a longitudinal sectional view of the optical disc 1, the guide groove forming layer 7, the second recording layer (second information recording layer) 8, and the guide groove forming intermediate layer are formed on the disc substrate 6. 9, a first recording layer (first information recording layer) 10 and a surface coat layer 11 are sequentially laminated. In recording and reproduction on the first recording layer 10 and the second recording layer 8 of the optical disc 1, the light beam 12 is condensed on the first and second recording layers 10 and 8 from the same side, that is, the surface coat layer 11 side. It is performed by irradiating.

  The configuration of the optical disc 1 is as shown in more detail in FIG. In the figure, a disk substrate 6 is made of, for example, a transparent polycarbonate substrate having a thickness of 1.2 mm. The guide groove forming layer 7 is made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin layer having a thickness of 20 μm, and a spiral guide groove 13 made of an uneven pattern is formed on the surface on the second recording layer 8 side. The guide groove forming layer 7 is formed using a pattern transfer technique called 2P method, for example.

The second recording layer 8 includes, for example, an AlTi alloy reflective film 14, a ZnS—SiO ₂ interference film 15, a SiN protective film 16, a GeSbTe phase change recording film 17, a SiN protective film 18, and a ZnS—SiO ₂ interference film 19. These films are formed by sequentially laminating on the guide groove forming layer 7 by sputtering.

  Similar to the guide groove forming layer 7, the guide groove forming intermediate layer 9 is made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin layer having a thickness of 20 μm, and the guide groove 13 is formed on the surface on the first recording layer 10 side. Similarly, the guide groove forming layer 9 is formed using a pattern transfer technique called 2P method, for example.

As with the second recording layer 8, the first recording layer 10 includes, for example, a ZnS—SiO ₂ interference film 20, a SiN protective film 21, a GeSbTe phase change recording film 22, a SiN protective film 23, and a ZnS—SiO ₂ interference film 24. These films are formed by sequentially laminating on the guide groove forming intermediate layer 9 by sputtering.

  The surface coat layer 11 is made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin layer having a layer thickness of 80 μm, and is formed by applying a fat ultraviolet curable resin onto the first recording layer 10 by spin coating and then curing the resin by ultraviolet irradiation.

  The optical disk substrate 6 is a transparent polycarbonate substrate as described above. However, in the case of the configuration in which the light beam 12 is incident from the surface coat layer 11 side as in the optical disc 1, the disc substrate 6 does not have to be transparent, and may be an opaque metal substrate.

  Further, the optical disc 1 includes a guide groove forming layer 7 having guide grooves 13, and the guide groove forming layer 7 is formed by the 2P method. However, for example, the disk substrate 6 may be formed by an injection molding method, and the guide groove 13 may be directly formed on the surface of the optical disk substrate 6. In this case, the guide groove forming layer 7 becomes unnecessary.

  The surface coat layer 11 is formed on the first recording layer 10 by a spin coating method, and a transparent sheet as the surface coat layer 11 having a uniform thickness is pasted on the first recording layer 10. It may be.

  The optical disc 1 has a structure in which a guide groove forming layer 7, a second recording layer 8, a guide groove forming intermediate layer 9, a first recording layer 10 and a surface coat layer 11 are sequentially laminated on an optical disc substrate 6. The guide groove forming layer 7, the first recording layer 10, the guide groove forming intermediate layer 9, the second recording layer 8 and the surface coat layer 11 are sequentially laminated on the optical disc substrate 6, and the light beam 12 is emitted from the optical disc substrate 6 side. It is also possible to adopt a configuration for irradiation. However, in this case, it is necessary to reverse the order of forming the respective films constituting the first recording layer 10 and the second recording layer 8 as shown in FIG.

  An optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus (optical recording / reproducing apparatus) that performs recording / reproducing with respect to the optical disc 1 has the configuration shown in FIG. In this optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31, the optical disk 1 is fixed to a spindle 33 of a motor by a center hub 32 and is driven to rotate.

  The optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 includes an optical system unit 34 and a signal processing / control unit (control means) 35. The optical system unit 34 includes a light source 41 such as a semiconductor laser, a collimator lens 42, a beam splitter 43, an objective lens 44, a biaxial actuator 45, a condensing lens 46, and a light receiving element 47. The objective lens 44 is supported by a biaxial actuator 45 and is driven in the focusing direction and the tracking direction. The light receiving element 47 includes a reproduction signal detection element, a focus error signal detection element, and a track error signal detection element, and outputs from these detection elements are input to the signal processing / control unit 35.

  The optical system unit 34 is driven by a slide driving unit (not shown) so as to reciprocate in the radial direction of the optical disc 1.

  The signal processing / control unit 35 performs various signal processing and various controls. For example, in order to perform power control of the light source 41 at the time of recording / reproduction and to perform focusing and tracking of the objective lens 44, the biaxial actuator 45 is driven in accordance with outputs from the focus error signal detection element and the track error signal detection element. To control. Further, the movement of the optical system unit 34 in the radial direction of the optical disk 1 by the slide drive unit is controlled, and the optical system unit 34, that is, the objective lens 44 is moved to a position where recording and reproduction can be performed for a predetermined track. In addition, each control described later is performed.

  In the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31, the light beam 12 is condensed on either the first recording layer 10 or the second recording layer 8 as described above, and the first recording layer 10 or the second recording layer is guided along the guide groove 13. Recording / reproduction of the layer 8 is performed.

  Here, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 performs recording / reproducing with respect to the second recording layer 8 after the recording of all the recordable areas 3 of the first recording layer 10 is completed. The operation in this case is performed by control of the signal processing / control unit 35 for the optical system unit (light irradiation unit) 34 and the slide drive unit (light irradiation unit).

  The operation in this case is as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, when the second recording layer 8 is irradiated with a light beam 12 for recording or reproduction, the recordable area 3 of the first recording layer 10 is previously recorded in a recorded state shown in black. It has become. Therefore, the light beam 12 is applied to the second recording layer 8 through the recorded first recording layer 10.

  In the above configuration, the recording / reproducing operation for the optical disc 1 by the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 will be described below.

  In the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31, the light beam 12 emitted from the light source 41 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 42, passes through the beam splitter 43, and enters the objective lens 44. Thereafter, the light beam 12 is focused on the first recording layer 10 or the second recording layer 8 of the optical disc 1 by the objective lens 44. The reflected light from the optical disk 1 passes through the objective lens 44, is reflected by the beam splitter 43, and is collected on the light receiving element 47 by the condenser lens 46.

  Thereafter, based on the output from the light receiving element 47, the signal processing / control unit 35 controls the biaxial actuator 45 to perform focusing control and tracking control of the objective lens 44. In the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31, the light beam 12 is thus focused on either the first recording layer 10 or the second recording layer 8 and along the guide groove 13, the first recording layer 10 or the second recording layer is collected. 8 is recorded and reproduced.

  Here, in the recording / reproducing operation with respect to the optical disc 1 by the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31, recording can be started from the innermost peripheral edge 4 of the recordable area 3 with respect to the first recording layer 10 of the optical disc 1. A case will be described in which recording on the first recording layer 10 is finished in the middle of the area 3 and then the recording / reproduction of the second recording layer 8 is started. It is assumed that the optical disk 1 uses a high-to-low medium having a space portion having a higher reflectance than the recording mark portion, and phase change recording is performed.

  In the recording operation for the first recording layer 10, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the interval from the innermost peripheral edge 4 in the recordable area 3 of the first recording layer 10 to the midway position of the recordable area 3 is shown. In addition, a recording completion area 51 indicated by a mesh pattern is generated.

  At this time, in the first recording layer 10, the light transmittance of the recording completion region 51 is higher than the light transmittance of the other regions. Therefore, when the second recording layer 8 is irradiated with the light beam 12 having the same intensity, the intensity of the light beam 12 b that passes through the recording completion region 51 and is focused on the second recording layer 8 is other than the recording completion region 51. It becomes stronger than the intensity of the light beam 12a that passes through the region (unrecorded region) and is focused on the second recording layer 8. That is, when recording on the second recording layer 8, the intensity of the light beam 12 that reaches the second recording layer 8 through the first recording layer 10 is determined by whether or not the light beam 12 has passed through the recording completion region 51. It will be different. In this case, when recording on the second recording layer 8, a complicated recording system that changes the intensity of the light beam 12 in accordance with the presence or absence of recording on the first recording layer 10 is required.

  The same applies to the reproduction of the second recording layer 8, and the second recording layer 8 depends on whether or not the light beam 12 has passed through the recording completion area 51 of the first recording layer 10. Therefore, a complicated reproduction system is required.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 performs recording / reproduction on the second recording layer 8 after setting the entire recording area 3 of the first recording layer 10 to the recording completed state. ing. That is, when recording on the optical disc 1, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 first starts recording from the first recording layer 10 and completes recording in all the recordable areas 3 of the first recording layer 10. After that, it operates so as to shift to recording or reproduction to the second recording layer 8.

  With such an operation, when recording / reproducing is performed on the second recording layer 8, the light beam 12 applied to the second recording layer 8 always passes through the first recording layer 10 on which recording has been completed, and then the second recording layer 8 is recorded. Incident on the recording layer 8. Therefore, in each case of recording and reproduction, the intensity of the light beam 12 applied to the second recording layer 8 can be made constant. As a result, complicated recording and reproduction for controlling the intensity of the light beam 12 is possible. Stable recording and reproduction can be realized without using a system.

  In order to perform the above operation, the signal processing / control unit 35 includes a recording start address generation circuit 81 and a light irradiation unit control circuit 82 as shown in FIG. The light irradiation section controlled by the light irradiation section control circuit 82 includes the optical system section 34 and the slide drive section.

  When recording on the optical disk 1, first, a recording state management signal recorded in the recording state management area of the optical disk 1 is read, and this signal is sequentially sent to the recording start address generation circuit 81 of the signal processing / control unit 35. It will be recorded. The recording state management area is provided at a specific position in the first recording layer 10. In the recording state management area, the title of the recording content and the like may be recorded together with the address indicating the recording range.

  Thereafter, the recording start address generation circuit 81 generates a recording start address of the optical disc 1, and the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 performs focusing control and tracking control so as to move the light beam spot to the recording start address. In this way, recording on the recordable area 3 of the first recording layer 10 is started.

  Thereafter, when recording on the first recording layer 10 is completed and the final address of the first recording layer 10 is detected, when recording on the second recording layer 8 is performed subsequently, focusing on the second recording layer 8 is performed. In the same manner, recording on the recordable area 3 of the second recording layer 8 is performed.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The optical disc 61 shown in the present embodiment can be used in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 that performs the above operation.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the optical disc 61 of the present embodiment has extended regions 62 at the innermost peripheral end 4 a and the outermost peripheral end 5 a in the recordable region 3 a of the first recording layer 10. ing. Therefore, the innermost peripheral end 4 a of the first recording layer 10 is positioned more inward in the radial direction of the optical disc 1 than the innermost peripheral end 4 b of the second recording layer 8. Further, the outermost peripheral end portion 5 a of the first recording layer 10 is located outward in the radial direction from the outermost peripheral end portion 5 b of the second recording layer 8.

  That is, the recordable area 3a of the first recording layer 10 is wider than the recordable area 3b of the second recording layer 8 by the extended area 62 on the innermost peripheral end 4a side and the outermost peripheral end 5a side. ing. In FIG. 9, for the sake of simplification, the innermost peripheral end portions 4a and 4b and the outermost peripheral end portions 5a and 5b are also used explicitly.

  Regardless of the size of the extended area 62, at least the extended area 62 is provided to suppress a reduction in the intensity of the light beam applied to the recordable area 3b of the second recording layer 8, as will be described later. Can do. However, in order to better prevent the light beam intensity from decreasing, the width in the extended area 62, that is, the length in the radial direction of the optical disc 1, is the innermost peripheral edge in the recordable area 3b of the second recording layer 8. 4b or when the light beam 12 is focused on the outermost peripheral end portion 5b, the light beam 12 is set to pass through the recordable area 3a including the extended area 62 of the first recording layer 10 in each case. Preferably it is.

  Here, a comparative optical disk for explaining the function of the optical disk 61 is shown in FIG. In this optical disc 63, the recordable area of the first recording layer 10 is the same as the recordable area of the second recording layer 8, and the innermost circumference of the first recording layer 10 and the second recording layer 8 is the same. The positions of the end portions 4 and the positions of the outermost peripheral end portions 5 coincide with each other in the stacking direction of the first recording layer 10 and the second recording layer 8.

  9 and 11, the first recording layer 10 and the second recording layer 8 of the optical disks 61 and 63 each have a guide groove 13. Each of the first recording layers 10 is in a state where recording is completed up to the innermost peripheral end portions 4a and 4 or the outermost peripheral end portions 5a and 5 of the recordable areas 3a and 3 along the guide grooves 13. In both figures, the guide groove 13 is indicated by a bold line in order to show the recording completion state. That is, in the recording / reproducing with respect to the optical discs 61 and 63, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 first records all the recordable areas 3a and 3 of the first recording layer 10, and then the second recording layer 8 is recorded. Recording / reproduction is performed on the recordable areas 3b and 3.

In the above configuration, in the optical disc 63 in which the first recording layer 10 includes the recordable area 3 that does not have the extended area 62, when recording / reproduction is performed on the second recording layer 8, All of the light beam 12b irradiated radially inward in the recordable area 3 passes through the recordable area 3 (recorded completed area) where the transmittance of the first recording layer 10 is high.
On the other hand, a portion of the light beam 12c irradiated near the innermost peripheral edge 4 or the outermost peripheral edge 5 of the second recording layer 8 is a recordable area where the transmittance of the first recording layer 10 is increased. 3 (recording completed area), but the remaining part passes through the non-recordable area 64 area of low transmittance other than the recordable area 3 of the first recording layer 10. Accordingly, the intensity of the light beam 12c is weaker than the intensity of the light beam 12b. For this reason, at the time of recording / reproduction of the second recording layer 8, the light beam intensity decreases, that is, fluctuates at the innermost peripheral edge 4, the outermost peripheral edge 5 of the recordable area 3 in the second recording layer 8 and the vicinity thereof. Occurs, and stable recording / reproduction is difficult in the entire recordable area 3 of the second recording layer 8.

  On the other hand, in the optical disc 61 of the present embodiment, the recordable area 3a having the extended area 62 is provided in the first recording layer 10, so that when the recording / reproduction is performed on the second recording layer 8, the second The light beam irradiated to the recordable area 3b of the recording layer 8 is irradiated to the inner side in the radial direction of the second recording layer 8, as well as the innermost peripheral edge 4b and the outermost outer periphery of the second recording layer 8. What is irradiated onto the end portion 5b also becomes the light beam 12b that has passed through the recordable area 3a (recorded completion area) where the transmittance of the first recording layer 10 is high.

  As described above, in the optical disc 61 of the present embodiment, the recordable area 3a in which the light beam irradiated to the recordable area 3b of the second recording layer 8 always has a high transmittance of the first recording layer 10 (recording completed). The light beam 12b that has passed through the second recording layer 8 is stable and no fluctuations in the light beam intensity occur even when recording or reproduction is performed on any position in the recordable area 3b of the second recording layer 8. Recording / reproduction can be realized.

  When recording / reproducing is performed on the second recording layer 8, the radius of the light beam 12 applied to the first recording layer 10 is at most about the thickness of the guide groove forming intermediate layer 9. Therefore, the width of the extended region 62 (the length in the optical disc radial direction) may be at least the thickness of the guide groove forming intermediate layer 9. Further, when there is an eccentricity between the guide groove 13 of the first recording layer 10 and the guide groove 13 of the second recording layer 8, the extended region 62 has its eccentric width in the layer thickness of the guide groove forming intermediate layer 9. What is necessary is just to set to the added dimension.

  Further, since FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram, the extended region 62 is described as being set to the width of a region including two guide grooves 13. However, in practice, since the pitch of the guide grooves 13 is about 0.3 μm and the thickness of the guide groove forming intermediate layer 9 is about 20 μm, the expanded region 62 is a region including at least 60 guide grooves 13. The width corresponds to the width of.

  Further, the extended region 62 may be formed only in either the innermost peripheral end 4a or the outermost peripheral end 5a of the first recording layer 10, and in this case, the extended region 62 is also formed. On the side, the above functions can be obtained.

[Embodiment 2]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The optical disc 71 shown in the present embodiment can be used in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 that performs the above-described operation.

  In the optical disc 61, the innermost peripheral end portion 4a and the outermost peripheral end portion 5a in the recordable region 3a of the first recording layer 10 have the extended regions 62. However, in the optical disc 71 of the present embodiment, As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, an area corresponding to the extended area 62 is a pseudo recording area 72 that has been previously recorded. Therefore, in the optical disc 71 of the present embodiment, the recordable area 3 for recording normal information is substantially the same in the first recording layer 10 and the second recording layer 8. The pseudo recording area 72 may be formed before the optical disk 71 is shipped, for example.

  In the above configuration, during normal recording / reproducing with respect to the optical disc 71, as in the case described above, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 first performs recording on the entire recordable region 3 of the first recording layer 10. Thereafter, recording / reproduction with respect to the recordable area 3 of the second recording layer 8 is performed. In this case, the pseudo recording area 72 has already been recorded.

  As described above, in the optical disc 71 of the present embodiment, the pseudo recording is performed on the radially inner side of the innermost peripheral end portion 4b and the outermost peripheral end portion 5b of the first recording layer 10 in the radial direction. A region 72 is provided. Accordingly, when recording / reproducing is performed on the second recording layer 8, the light beam applied to the recordable area 3 of the second recording layer 8 is always transmitted through the first recording layer 10 as in the case of the optical disc 61. The light beam 12b passes through the recording completed area where the rate is high. Thereby, even when recording / reproducing is performed at any position in the recordable area 3 of the second recording layer 8, the light beam intensity does not vary, and stable recording / reproducing can be realized.

  Further, in the optical disc 71, unlike the case of the optical disc 61, the recordable area 3 of the first recording layer 10 and the second recording layer 8 has the same size, so the format of the guide groove 13 in the recordable area 3 is the same. Can be. As a result, the position control with respect to the optical system unit 34 can be handled by the same control in the recording / reproduction of the first recording layer 10 and the recording / reproduction of the second recording layer 8.

  Note that the pseudo recording area 72 may be formed when the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31 sets the extended area 62 in the recording completed state with respect to the optical disk 61 having the extended area 62. As a result, the optical disc 61 can be the optical disc 71. In such a configuration, it is not necessary to form the pseudo recording area 72 in advance on the optical disc 61 before shipment to obtain the optical disc 71, and the cost of the optical disc 61 (71) can be reduced by reducing the number of steps. Can do.

  The operation of forming the pseudo recording area 72 by setting the extended area 62 in the recording completed state by the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31 is performed by loading, for example, the optical disk 61 into the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31 prior to normal recording on the first recording layer 10. Sometimes done. In this case, the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31 first reads the extended area 62 of the loaded optical disk 61, and sets the extended area 62 in the recording completed state if it is not in the recording completed state. The processing in this case is performed by the signal processing / control unit 35 in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31.

  In order to perform the above operation, the signal processing / control section 35 includes an extended area recording state determination circuit 83 and the light irradiation section control circuit 82 as shown in FIG.

  In the above configuration, when the optical disc 61 is loaded, the optical disc recording / playback apparatus 31 first plays back the expanded area. Based on the reproduction signal from the extended area 62, the extended area recording state determining circuit 83 determines whether or not the extended area 62 is in a recording complete state. In this determination, if the extended area 62 is in an unrecorded state, the extended area recording state determination circuit 83 determines that the loaded optical disk 61 is unused and starts the recording operation for the first recording layer 10. Prior to this, an extended area recording instruction signal is output to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82. Upon receiving this signal, the light irradiator control circuit 82 controls the light irradiator to bring the extended area 62 of the optical disc 61 into a recording completed state.

  On the other hand, in the above determination, if the extended area 62 is in the recording completed state, the extended area recording state determining circuit 83 determines that the loaded optical disk 61 is already used, and sends a normal recording instruction signal to the light irradiation unit. Output to the control circuit 82. Upon receiving this signal, the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit to perform a normal recording operation on the optical disc 61.

  Further, in the pseudo recording area 72, information having no content or meaningless information may be recorded. Alternatively, when the pseudo recording area 72 is formed before shipment of the pseudo recording area 72, disc ID information (identification information) or encryption code information (encryption information) corresponding to each optical disc 72 is stored in the pseudo recording area 72. It is also possible to record it.

  When the encryption code information is recorded in the pseudo recording area 72, the information recorded in the recordable area 3 of the optical disk 71 by the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 is encrypted based on the encryption code information, and then stored in the recordable area 3. It may be recorded. In this case, when recording on the optical disc 71, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 first reads the encryption code information in the pseudo recording area 72 and encrypts the information to be recorded based on the encryption code information. Further, when reproducing the optical disc 71 on which the encrypted information is recorded, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 decrypts the information read from the recordable area 3. These processes are performed by the signal processing / control unit 35.

  In this case, the information read from the optical disc 71 cannot be decrypted unless the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 has a function of decrypting the encrypted information. Therefore, it is possible to prevent duplication and illegal use of the optical disc 71 such as illegal copy.

  As described above, in order to encrypt the information based on the encryption code information in the pseudo recording area 72 and record it on the optical disc 71, the signal processing / control unit 35, as shown in FIG. The light irradiation unit control circuit 82 is provided.

  In the above configuration, the encryption code information recorded in advance in the pseudo recording area 72 of the optical disc 71 is reproduced prior to the recording operation on the optical disc 71. The encryption circuit 84 encrypts the record information based on the encryption code information and outputs the encrypted record information to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82. The light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit so that the recorded information is recorded on the optical disc 71.

  Further, when the disc ID information is recorded in the pseudo recording area 72, the disc ID information is managed on the optical disc recording / reproducing device 31 side, or the disc ID information is connected to the optical disc recording / reproducing device 31 or the like. It is possible to prevent duplication and illegal use such as illegal copying of the optical disc 71 by using the management method in FIG. Note that the management of the disk ID information is, for example, a process of counting the number of times the optical disk 71 has been used and limiting the number of times of use.

  Further, by making the pseudo recording area 72 an area that can only be reproduced, rewriting of these information can be prohibited when disc ID information or encryption code information is recorded in the pseudo recording area. Thereby, duplication such as illegal copying of the optical disc 71 and illegal use can be more appropriately prevented.

  Further, as described above, when the optical recording / reproducing apparatus 31 forms the pseudo recording area 72 in the optical disk 61 and the optical disk 61 is the optical disk 71, the apparatus ID information unique to the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31 or the optical disk recording / reproducing is performed. The optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 may record the encryption code information unique to the apparatus 31 in the pseudo recording area 72.

  When the device ID information is recorded in the pseudo recording area 72 by the optical disc recording / reproducing device 31, the signal processing / control unit 35 of the optical disc recording / reproducing device 31 includes the identification information presence / absence discriminating circuit 85 and the light as shown in FIG. An irradiation unit control circuit 82 is provided.

  In the above configuration, when the optical disc 61 is loaded, the optical disc recording / playback apparatus 31 first plays back the expanded area. The identification information presence / absence discriminating circuit 85 discriminates whether or not device ID information is recorded in the expansion area 62 based on the reproduction signal from the expansion area 62. In this determination, if no device ID information is recorded in the extended area 62, the identification information presence / absence determination circuit 85 determines that the loaded optical disk 61 is unused, and performs a recording operation on the first recording layer 10. Prior to the start, an identification information recording instruction signal is output to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82. Upon receiving this signal, the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit to record device ID information in the extended area 62 of the optical disc 61. This device ID information is provided in the signal processing / control unit 35 (identification information storage means).

  On the other hand, if the device ID information is recorded in the extension area 62 in the above determination, the identification information presence / absence determination circuit 85 determines that the loaded optical disc 61 is already used, and outputs a normal recording / reproduction instruction signal. It outputs to the light irradiation part control circuit 82. Upon receiving this signal, the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit to perform a normal recording / reproducing operation on the optical disc 61.

  Further, when the encryption code information is recorded in the pseudo recording area 72 by the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31, the signal processing / control unit 35 of the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 has an encrypted information presence / absence discriminating circuit 86 as shown in FIG. And the light irradiation unit control circuit 82.

  In the above configuration, in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31, when the optical disc 61 is loaded, the extended area 62 is first reproduced. The encryption information presence / absence determination circuit 86 determines whether or not encryption code information (encryption information) is recorded in the extension area 62 based on the reproduction signal from the extension area 62. In this determination, if encryption code information is not recorded in the extended area 62, the encryption information presence / absence determination circuit 86 determines that the loaded optical disk 61 is unused and performs a recording operation on the first recording layer 10. Prior to starting, the encrypted information reproduction signal is output to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82. Upon receiving this signal, the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit to record the encryption code information in the extended area 62 of the optical disc 61. The encryption code information is provided in a signal processing / control unit (encrypted information storage means) 35.

  On the other hand, if encryption code information is recorded in the extended area 62 in the above determination, the encryption information presence / absence determination circuit 86 determines that the loaded optical disk 61 is already used, and a normal recording / reproduction instruction signal Is output to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82. Upon receiving this signal, the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit to perform a normal recording / reproducing operation on the optical disc 61.

  Further, as described above, when the apparatus ID information or the encryption code information is recorded in the pseudo recording area 72 (extended area 62) by the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31, only the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 31 that performed the recording has recorded. The information recorded in the recordable area 3 of the optical disc 71 (61) may be made reproducible.

The process in this case is performed as follows, for example.
When device ID information is recorded in the pseudo recording area 72 of the optical disc 71, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 first reads the device ID information recorded in the pseudo recording region 72 of the optical disc 71 when reproducing the optical disc 71. . Then, it is determined whether or not the read device ID information matches the device ID information included in the optical disc recording / reproducing device 31. As a result, the optical disc 71 is reproduced only when the two match.

  In order to perform the above operation, the signal processing / control unit 35 includes an identification information coincidence determination circuit 87 and the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 as shown in FIG.

  In the above configuration, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 first reproduces the pseudo recording area 72 when the optical disc 71 is loaded. The identification information coincidence determination circuit 87 compares the device ID information obtained from the reproduction signal of the pseudo recording area 72 with the device ID information provided in the optical disc recording / reproducing device 31, and determines whether or not the device ID information matches. judge. In this determination, if both device ID information matches, a recording / reproducing instruction signal is output to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82. Upon receiving this signal, the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit to perform a recording / reproducing operation on the optical disc 71.

  On the other hand, if the device ID information does not match, the identification information coincidence determination circuit 87 outputs an identification information coincidence display signal indicating that to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82. In response to this signal, the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 displays, for example, a display to that effect on a display unit (not shown). In this case, recording / reproduction with respect to the optical disc 71 is not performed.

  Further, when information encrypted based on the encryption code information is recorded in the recordable area 3 of the optical disc 71, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 provides the encryption code provided in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 when reproducing the optical disc 71. Based on the information, the information read from the recordable area 3 is decoded. This decoding is performed by a decoding circuit 88 provided in the signal processing / control unit 35 as shown in FIG. At this time, the information read from the recordable area 3 can be decrypted only when the encryption code information used in the optical disc 71 matches the encryption code information provided in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent duplication such as illegal copying of the optical disc 71.

  Further, the extended area 62 of the optical disc 61 can be used as a test writing area as follows.

  For example, the optimum light beam intensity when recording on the optical disc 61, that is, the optimum recording power, changes according to changes in the environmental temperature or the like. Therefore, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 31 generally performs trial writing on the optical disc in order to derive the optimum recording power. Therefore, in the optical disc 61, at least a part of the extended area 62 is used as a test writing area. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide a separate test writing area on the optical disc 61, and the recordable area 3 of the optical disc 61 can be used effectively.

  In order to perform the above operation, the signal processing / control unit 35 includes a test writing control circuit 89, a recording power determination circuit 90, and the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 as shown in FIG.

  In the above configuration, when recording on the optical disc 61, a test writing recording instruction command is input to the test writing control circuit 89 prior to recording on the first recording layer 10. Thereby, trial writing (recording as trial writing) is performed on the extended area 62 of the optical disc 61. This test writing is performed by gradually changing the recording power.

  Next, the information recorded by the trial writing is reproduced, and this reproduction signal is input to the recording power determination circuit 90. The recording power judgment circuit 90 determines the optimum recording power for recording on the optical disc 61 based on each reproduction signal. Thereafter, information indicating the optimum recording power is input to the light irradiation unit control circuit 82, and the light irradiation unit control circuit 82 controls the light irradiation unit so that recording onto the optical disc 61 is performed with the optimum recording power. To do. With such a configuration, even in the case where the recording sensitivity on the optical disc 61 changes due to a change in the ambient temperature or the like, it is possible to always record in the optimum state.

  In the above embodiment, each optical disc has been described as being a high-to-low phase change recording medium in which the space portion has a higher reflectance than the recording mark portion, that is, a low transmittance. The above-described configurations can be applied even to a low-to-high phase change recording medium in which the space portion has a lower reflectance than the recording mark portion, that is, a high transmittance.

  As described above, the optical recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention records a plurality of information recording layers on an optical recording medium capable of recording / reproducing information independently for each information recording layer by the light irradiation means. In the optical recording / reproducing apparatus in which light for reproduction is incident from one side, of the plurality of information recording layers in the optical recording medium, the light incident side is used as a first information recording layer, and the first information recording layer When the layer adjacent to the side opposite to the light incident side with respect to the layer is used as the second information recording layer, the recording is completed for all the recordable areas in the first information recording layer. The information recording layer includes a control means for controlling the light irradiation means so that recording or reproduction is performed on the recordable area of the information recording layer.

  Further, the optical recording / reproducing method of the present invention provides a recording / reproducing light on one side with respect to an optical recording medium in which a plurality of information recording layers are laminated and information can be recorded / reproduced independently for each information recording layer. In the optical recording / reproducing method for incidence from the side, the light incident side of the plurality of information recording layers in the optical recording medium is used as the first information recording layer, and the light incident side with respect to the first information recording layer When the second information recording layer is the one adjacent to the opposite side of the first information recording layer, the recording of the second information recording layer is completed after the recording of all the recordable areas in the first information recording layer is completed. It is characterized by playing.

  According to the above configuration, after the recording of all the recordable areas in the first information recording layer on the light incident side is completed, the first information recording layer is adjacent to the side opposite to the light incident side. Recording or reproduction of the second information recording layer is performed.

  Accordingly, during recording / reproduction of the second information recording layer, almost all of the light for recording / reproduction that passes through the first information recording layer and reaches the second information recording layer is in a recorded state. It passes through the recordable area of the first information recording layer. Thereby, even if the light transmittance in the recordable area of the first information recording layer differs depending on whether or not the recordable area has been recorded, almost all of the second information recording layer Light can be irradiated to the recordable area with uniform intensity. As a result, it is possible to achieve good recording / reproducing characteristics without using a complicated recording / reproducing system.

  The optical recording medium of the present invention is an optical recording medium in which a plurality of information recording layers are stacked, and information can be recorded and reproduced independently for each information recording layer by light incident from one side. Of the recording layers, the one on the light incident side is used as the first information recording layer, and the one adjacent to the first information recording layer on the opposite side of the light incident side is used as the second information recording layer. The recordable area in the first information recording layer is expanded at the end of the first information recording layer in the stacking direction of the first and second information recording layers than the area overlapping the recordable area of the second information recording layer. It is characterized by having an extended area.

  According to the above configuration, the recordable area of the first information recording layer on the light incident side has the recording of the second information recording layer at the end in the stacking direction of the first and second information recording layers. It has an extended region that is expanded beyond the region that overlaps the possible region. Therefore, if the recording or reproduction of the recordable area of the second information recording layer is performed after the recording of all the recordable areas of the first information recording layer is completed, the second information recording is performed. The first information recording in which almost all of the light for recording / reproduction that passes through the first information recording layer and reaches the second information recording layer during recording / reproduction of the layer is in a recorded state It will pass through the recordable area of the layer.

  Thereby, even if the light transmittance in the recordable area of the first information recording layer differs depending on whether or not the recordable area has been recorded, almost all of the second information recording layer Light can be irradiated to the recordable area with uniform intensity. As a result, good recording / reproducing characteristics can be realized without using a complicated recording / reproducing system.

  The optical recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is the optical recording / reproducing apparatus in which light for recording / reproducing is incident on the optical recording medium from one side by light irradiation means. Prior to recording on areas other than the extended area of the recordable area in the layer, the recording apparatus is characterized by comprising control means for controlling the light irradiation means so that the extended area is in a recording completed state.

  In the optical recording / reproducing method of the present invention, the extension area may be recorded on the optical recording medium prior to recording in an area other than the extension area of the recordable area in the first information recording layer of the optical recording medium. It is characterized by recording so that the recording is completed.

  According to the above configuration, since the optical recording medium having the extended area is used as the recordable area of the first information recording layer, as described above, almost all recordable areas of the second information recording layer are used. On the other hand, light can be irradiated with uniform intensity, and good recording / reproducing characteristics can be realized without using a complicated recording / reproducing system.

  Further, the area other than the extended area in the recordable area of the first information recording layer and the recordable area of the second information recording layer are the same, and the position control for the light irradiation means to the optical recording medium is performed. Can be handled by the same control in the recording / reproduction of the area other than the extended area in the recordable area of the first information recording layer and the recordable area of the second information recording layer.

  The optical recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is unique to each optical recording / reproducing apparatus in the optical recording / reproducing apparatus in which light for recording / reproducing is incident from one side to the optical recording medium by the light irradiation means, Identification information storage means for storing identification information for distinguishing the optical recording / reproducing apparatus from others, and control for controlling the light irradiation means so that the identification information is recorded in an extended area of the optical recording medium And a means.

  The optical recording / reproducing method of the present invention is specific to each optical recording / reproducing apparatus that uses the optical recording medium and performs recording / reproducing on the optical recording medium. The identification information for identifying is recorded in the extension area.

  According to said structure, the identification information for identifying the optical recording / reproducing apparatus which recorded or reproduced | regenerated with respect to the recording medium can be recorded on the extended area | region of an optical recording medium. Therefore, when performing recording or reproduction on an optical recording medium, for example, the optical recording / reproducing apparatus first reads the identification information of the extension area, and the read identification information matches the identification information provided in the apparatus. By making it possible to perform recording or reproduction only at times, it is possible to prevent illegal copying or illegal use of the optical recording medium.

  The optical recording / reproducing apparatus includes determination means for determining whether or not the identification information obtained from the extended area of the optical recording medium matches the identification information of the optical recording / reproducing apparatus stored in the identification information storage means. When the control means reproduces the optical recording medium, the control means controls the light irradiating means so that the identification information of the extended area in the optical recording medium is reproduced. Only when it is determined that the recording has been made, the reproduction of the recordable area other than the extended area of the information recording layer may be started.

  In the optical recording / reproducing method, when reproducing the optical recording medium, the identification information of the extension area in the optical recording medium is reproduced, and the identification information obtained from the extension area and the identification information of the optical recording / reproducing apparatus are Only when it is determined whether or not the two pieces of identification information match, reproduction of the recordable area other than the extended area of the information recording layer may be started.

  According to the above configuration, when reproducing the optical recording medium, the optical recording / reproducing apparatus first reads the identification information of the extended area of the optical recording medium, and reads the identification information and the identification information included in the apparatus. Since the optical recording medium can be reproduced only when they match, illegal duplication or illegal use of the optical recording medium can be surely prevented.

  The optical recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention encrypts information to be recorded on an optical recording medium in the optical recording / reproducing apparatus in which light for recording / reproducing is incident from one side to the optical recording medium by light irradiation means. Encryption information storage means for storing the encrypted information, and control means for controlling the light irradiation means so that the encrypted information is recorded in an extended area of the optical recording medium. It is said.

  The optical recording / reproducing method of the present invention uses the optical recording medium, prepares encryption information for encrypting information to be recorded on the optical recording medium in advance, and records the encryption information in the extension area. It is characterized by.

  According to said structure, the encryption information for encrypting the information recorded on an optical recording medium can be recorded on the extended area | region of an optical recording medium. Therefore, when the optical recording / reproducing apparatus records information on the optical recording medium, first, the encrypted information in the extension area is read, and the information to be recorded is encrypted based on the encrypted information and recorded on the optical recording medium. By doing so, the information read from the optical recording medium can be decrypted only by the optical recording / reproducing apparatus capable of decrypting the encrypted information. Therefore, illegal copying and illegal use of the optical recording medium can be prevented.

  The optical recording / reproducing apparatus further includes an encryption unit that encrypts information recorded on the optical recording medium with reference to the encryption information of the extension area, and the control unit encrypts the information using the encryption unit. The light irradiation unit may be controlled such that the recorded information is recorded on the information recording layer.

  The optical recording / reproducing method may further include a configuration in which the information recorded on the optical recording medium is encrypted with reference to the encryption information in the extension area, and the encrypted recording information is recorded in the information recording layer. Good.

  According to said structure, based on the encryption information recorded on the extended area | region of the optical recording medium, the information recorded on an optical recording medium can be encrypted and recorded on an optical recording medium.

  In the above optical recording / reproducing apparatus, the control unit further performs a reproducing operation only on the recording information encrypted based on the same encryption information as the encryption information stored in the encryption information storage unit. It is good also as a structure controlled to be displayed.

  The above optical recording / reproducing method may be configured to perform a reproducing operation only on the recording information encrypted based on the same encrypted information as the previously prepared encrypted information.

  According to said structure, it becomes possible to reproduce | regenerate only the information encrypted with the encryption information same as the encryption information with which an optical recording / reproducing apparatus is provided. As a result, illegal duplication or illegal use of an optical recording medium using another optical recording / reproducing apparatus not provided with the encryption information can be prevented.

  The optical recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is an optical recording / reproducing apparatus in which light for recording / reproducing is incident on one side of the optical recording medium from the one side of the optical recording medium. As is performed, it is characterized by comprising control means for controlling the light irradiation means.

  The optical recording / reproducing method of the present invention is characterized in that the optical recording medium is used and trial writing on the information recording layer is performed in the extended area.

  According to said structure, the said expansion area | region can be utilized as a test writing area | region for determining the optimal light beam intensity at the time of recording on an optical recording medium, for example. As a result, it is not necessary to provide a separate test writing area in a recordable area other than the extended area of the optical recording medium, and the recordable area of the optical recording medium can be used effectively.

  The optical recording medium described above is very good in that the extended area is a pseudo recording area that has been previously recorded.

  According to said structure, the function by the said extended area | region can be obtained by the pseudo recording area. Further, the recordable area other than the pseudo record area of the first information recording layer and the recordable area of the second information recording layer are the same, and the position control of the optical recording medium with respect to the light irradiation means is as follows. In the recording and reproduction of the recordable area of the first information recording layer and the recordable area of the second information recording layer, the same control can be used.

  The optical recording medium may have a configuration in which identification information for identifying the optical recording medium from another is recorded in the pseudo recording area, which is unique to each optical recording medium.

  According to the above configuration, when recording or reproduction is performed on an optical recording medium by the optical recording / reproducing apparatus, recording or reproduction on the optical recording medium can be performed only by the optical recording / reproducing apparatus corresponding to the identification information. Can be. As a result, illegal duplication or illegal use of the optical recording medium can be prevented.

  The optical recording medium may have a configuration in which encrypted information for encrypting information to be recorded on the optical recording medium is recorded in the pseudo recording area.

  According to the above configuration, when the optical recording / reproducing apparatus records information on the optical recording medium, first, the encrypted information in the pseudo recording area is read, and the information to be recorded is encrypted based on the encrypted information, By recording on the optical recording medium, the information read from the optical recording medium can be decrypted only by the optical recording / reproducing apparatus capable of decrypting the encrypted information. Therefore, illegal copying and illegal use of the optical recording medium can be prevented.

  The optical recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is an optical recording / reproducing apparatus in which light for recording / reproducing is made incident on the optical recording medium from one side by a light irradiating means with reference to the encryption information in the pseudo recording area. Encryption means for encrypting information recorded on the optical recording medium; and control means for controlling the light irradiation means so that the recording information encrypted by the encryption means is recorded on the information recording layer; It is characterized by having.

  The optical recording / reproducing method of the present invention uses the optical recording medium, refers to the encryption information in the pseudo recording area, encrypts the recording information on the optical recording medium, and converts the encrypted recording information into the information It is characterized by recording on a recording layer.

  According to said structure, based on the encryption information recorded on the pseudo-recording area | region of the optical recording medium, the information recorded on an optical recording medium can be encrypted and recorded on an optical recording medium.

  The optical recording medium may be configured such that information in the pseudo recording area cannot be rewritten. According to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the identification information and encryption information recorded in the pseudo recording area of the optical recording medium from being rewritten, so that illegal duplication and illegal use of the optical recording medium can be further ensured. Can be blocked.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the recording / reproducing operation | movement with respect to the 2nd recording layer of an optical disk by the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus of this invention. It is a top view of the optical disk shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the optical disk shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the main part of the optical disc shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the recording completion area is set up to the middle position of the recordable area in the first recording layer in the optical disc shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining a recording / reproducing operation with respect to a second recording layer of the optical disc shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing recording / reproduction of the second recording layer after first setting the first recording layer in the recording completed state with respect to the optical disc shown in FIG. 1 in the signal processing / control unit shown in FIG. It is. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a first recording layer and a second recording layer of an optical disc according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a recording / reproducing operation with respect to the second recording layer. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of an optical disc including the first recording layer and the second recording layer shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a first recording layer and a second recording layer in an optical disc as a comparative example for the optical disc shown in FIG. 9, and a recording / reproducing operation with respect to the second recording layer. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a first recording layer and a second recording layer of an optical disc according to another embodiment of the present invention, and a recording / reproducing operation with respect to the second recording layer. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the optical disk provided with the 1st recording layer and the 2nd recording layer which were shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration provided in the signal processing / control unit illustrated in FIG. 5 for setting the extended area of the optical disk illustrated in FIG. 9 to a recording completion state. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration for encrypting and recording information recorded on an optical disc, provided in the signal processing / control unit shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration for recording device ID information in an extension area of the optical disc shown in FIG. 9 provided in the signal processing / control unit shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration for recording encryption code information in an extension area of the optical disc shown in FIG. 9 provided in the signal processing / control unit shown in FIG. 5. The signal processing / control unit shown in FIG. 5 has an operation for performing an operation corresponding to the mismatch between the device ID information recorded in the extended area of the optical disc shown in FIG. 9 and the device ID information of the optical disc recording / reproducing device. It is a block diagram which shows a structure. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration for decrypting encrypted information recorded on an optical disc, included in the signal processing / control unit illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing trial writing on an extension area of the optical disc shown in FIG. 9 provided in the signal processing / control unit shown in FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols

1 Optical disc
3,3a, 3b Recordable area
4,4a, 4b Innermost edge
5,5a, 5b Outermost peripheral edge 6 Optical disk substrate 7 Guide groove forming layer 8 Second recording layer (second information recording layer)
9 Guide groove forming intermediate layer 10 First recording layer (first information recording layer)
11 Surface coat layer
12, 12a, 12b Light beam 13 Guide groove 31 Optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus 34 Optical system part (light irradiation means)
35 Signal processing / control section (control means, encryption means, encrypted information storage means,
Determination means, identification information storage means)
51 Recording completion area 61 Optical disk 62 Expansion area 71 Optical disk 72 Pseudo recording area

Claims (3)

In an optical recording medium in which a plurality of information recording layers are laminated and information can be recorded and reproduced independently for each information recording layer by light incident from one side,
Among the plurality of information recording layers, the one on the light incident side is the first information recording layer, and the one adjacent to the first information recording layer on the side opposite to the light incident side is the second information recording layer. In this case, the recordable area of the first information recording layer is expanded more than the area overlapping the recordable area of the second information recording layer in the stacking direction of the first and second information recording layers. And the width of the extension region is such that when the light incident from one side is condensed on the end of the recordable region of the second information recording layer, the light is the first information. It is set so as to pass through the recordable area including the extended area of the recording layer,
Wherein the expansion region is assigned a region for trial writing, a region for the trial writing to an optical recording medium, characterized in that assigned to fit in the range of the extended region. An optical recording / reproducing method using the optical recording medium according to claim 1, wherein test writing on the information recording layer is performed in an area for the test writing . A reproducing method using the optical recording medium according to claim 1 and irradiating the second information recording layer with reproducing light through a recordable area including the extended area.

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