JPH05342817A - File management method and information recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To conduct effectively the renewal of file data on a recording medium, incapable of erasing and rewriting by providing file numbers showing the renewal of the file data in a directory. CONSTITUTION:The file data is recorded in each prescribed recording unit with continuous data parts in turn, and is recorded with the directory for managing the file data. In this directory A (2), a file name is recorded in FNM, while the file number in FNO and rearrangement information showing relationship corresponding to tracks before renewal and after renewal respectively in OLD, NEW and CNT. Then, in the information recording and reproducing device 31, read-out information in accordance with an output of a photodetector 39 is demodulated by a modulation/demodulation circuit 35, and information is recorded by a light beam projecting optical system 38. A data signal is transmitted and received by a host computer 32 with the information recording and reproducing device (drive) 31, so that its information in each data track is recorded and reproduced on an optical card 1. As a result, the management of the file data is carried out in the optical card 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a file management method for an information recording medium, and more particularly to a file management method for updating file data of an information recording medium that cannot be erased and rewritten, and a method for recording information on the information recording medium. The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing device for reproducing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an information recording medium, a floppy disk for recording / reproducing by using magnetism, an optical information recording medium for recording / reproducing by using light, etc. have been known. Various types of optical information recording media are known, such as discs, cards, and tapes.
It is used properly according to the purpose and purpose. Among them, the card-shaped optical information recording medium (hereinafter referred to as an optical card) makes use of features such as ease of manufacturing, portability, and accessibility, and its applications will continue to expand in the future. It is believed that. Depending on the characteristics of the information recording medium, there are some that can be erased and rewritable, and some that cannot. It is expected to be applied in fields where this is an advantage.

Generally, in order to manage information on an information recording medium, auxiliary data for managing data in blocks for storing a large amount of data, that is, a so-called directory is used. Normally, file information such as a file name, file length, and head data track number managed by the directory is written in the directory to manage the data section file. The above-mentioned optical card, especially the optical card that cannot be erased and rewritten, has a large recording capacity even if the size is about the size of a credit card. A method of managing information based on

FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the optical card. In FIG. 17, the optical card 1 has a data section 10 (10 ₁ , 10 _2, ... 10) including a data track.
_n ) and the directory section 20 (20 ₁ , 20 ₂ ... 20 _n )
And are provided. When recording information on the optical card 1, data is written in the data section 10 in the E direction from the upper portion, and directory information, which is data management information, is written in the D direction in the lower portion from the lower portion.

On the other hand, in order to manage the data as a file, in addition to the directory information which is the identification information for distinguishing the file from other files, map information indicating the storage information of the file is required. That is, the file starts from which track of the information recording medium, a sector obtained by dividing the track into some units, or a cluster which is a management unit in which a plurality of sectors are grouped, and which track (hereinafter referred to as a minimum recording unit and a management unit). Will be described as one track), and information indicating the order in which the tracks are arranged is required. Generally, this map information is stored in the file allocation table (FAT).
It is called.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the concept of the FAT. In FIG. 18, the FAT 30 has areas 1, 2, ..., N corresponding to the data tracks on the optical card 1.
(Generally around 2500) is prepared, and the track number in which the information following the information recorded in that track is recorded is recorded in each area. For example, in FIG. 18, files starting in area 1 are continued in areas 2 and 4, and files starting in area 3 are areas 5, 6 and 6.
It is shown that it continues to the area 7. In FIG. 18, "FF" in the area indicates that the file is not continued, that is, the last track of the file, and "0" indicates that the track is This indicates that the track is unused (data is not recorded). Like this directory and FAT
By using together, the identification information such as the file name and the beginning track number can be known from the directory, and the FAT
Since the stored information can be known by, the efficient file management can be performed.

An information recording / reproducing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a drive) for recording and reproducing data and directory information on an optical card is connected to a host computer which is a higher-level control device, and records on the basis of a command sent from the host computer. Perform a playback operation. For example, when a write command (recording command) is issued from the host computer, data is written from the end of the final data, and directory information is written from the end of the final directory for the write command of directory information. Further, when a data read command (playback command) is issued, it is confirmed whether or not the designated data track exists from the host computer, and if it exists, the data of the designated track is read out, and the host computer Transferred to. In response to a directory information read command, all directory information of the optical card is read and transferred to the host computer. Therefore, when data or directory information is additionally recorded on the write-once type optical card in the drive, the final recording position of data currently recorded (hereinafter referred to as EOB) and the final recording position of directory information (hereinafter referred to as EOD). It is necessary to detect).

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a conventional EOD detection method. First, the leading directory information is read (S1). Next, it is determined whether or not all directory information has been read (S2), and if there is any remaining information, the counter for counting the number of directory information is incremented by +1.
Then (S3), the same process is executed again from S1. That is, the number of directories read is sequentially read from the top directory information, and the total number of directories and the physical position of the directory information to be recorded next are detected by reading all the directory information.
As a method for detecting EOB, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-
A method of recording an EOB address in a directory as proposed in No. 199167 and reading the directory information when additionally recording data and detecting the EOB address in the recorded final directory (hereinafter referred to as EOD) There is. In this case, the EOD may not be reproduced normally due to external factors such as dirt and scratches after recording. Therefore, an EOB detection method that solves these problems has also been proposed. That is, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-199166
As disclosed in No. 6, the method of sequentially searching for data from the EOB address in the directory that has been normally reproduced and detecting the last block in which the data was recorded as the EOB when a predetermined number of blocks of blanks continues. is there.

The detection of EOB and EOD as described above is automatically performed by the drive according to a command from the host computer. For example, if a data write command is issued when EOB and EOD have not been detected even once since the optical card was replaced, the drive itself automatically detects the physical position to be recorded. Data is written after confirmation.

[0010]

By the way, the above-mentioned FAT basically needs to be rewritten every time the stored information changes, that is, every time a new file is recorded or the file is updated. If the recording medium is erasable and rewritable, a specific area may be prepared as the FAT area on the medium and the area may be rewritten with the latest information each time the stored information changes. However, in an erasable and non-erasable medium such as an optical card, rewriting is not possible, so that it is necessary to additionally record a new FAT whenever the stored information changes, and the information capacity of the optical card cannot be used effectively. There was a problem to say.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application has previously filed a file management method that solves the above problems as Japanese Patent Application No. 2-263774. That is, the file management method is such that data is sequentially recorded in each predetermined recording unit of the data section,
A flag that indicates the addition of file data is provided in the directory that manages file data.When additional data is recorded in an existing file, the data to be added is recorded as a separate file in the data section, and the additional data file is recorded in the directory section. In the file management method, a directory to be managed is recorded by incrementing the flag, and a file having the same file name but different flag at the time of reproduction is managed as one file divided and recorded in the order of the flag number. When the final recording information of the file to which data is added at the time of recording has an invalid data portion, the data recorded in the final recording information is read into the buffer memory, and the data to be newly added is added to the rear portion of the read data. Add and record sequentially, and the file name is the same during playback The flag is the flag in different file other than the maximum value file is a method that the final recording unit area is managed as invalid recording unit region.

According to this file management method,
Even if the FAT is not required to be recorded on the medium, the information capacity of the medium can be effectively used even on a medium that cannot be erased and rewritten, and the number of reproduction tracks of the file to which the data is added is the same as that of the conventional file management method. Compared with the above file management method, it has less advantages and has many excellent advantages that the reproduction time is shortened. However, since the file data can be updated only in the last recorded track of the file, it is not compatible with general file data update, and a new file management method has been desired.

Further, as a method for updating file data on a medium that cannot be erased and rewritten, and for erasing a file, the applicant of the present application proposes, as Japanese Patent Application No. 61-2337033, a method of using a directory indicating file erasing. did. According to this method, it is possible to logically delete the file by additionally recording in the directory part a directory indicating the deletion of the file that cannot be actually deleted, and further applying this method, It is possible to update the file data by once deleting the file before updating and then recording the updated file as a new file. However, this method has a problem that all the data after updating is required to be recorded, the processing time becomes long, and the utilization efficiency of the recording capacity is lowered.

Further, the following method is also known as another method for updating the file data on the medium that cannot be erased and rewritten. That is, the updated data is recorded as a separate file in the data section, the directory managing the separate file in the directory section, the relationship between the recording unit before updating and the recording unit after updating, that is, which recording unit is which recording unit This is a method of recording information (hereinbelow, referred to as rearrangement information) indicating whether or not it has been replaced. This method is effective when the file is a set of records having a constant size such as an address book. That is, when a person's address is changed, if only the recording unit corresponding to the person's record is updated by the above method, it is not necessary to rewrite the entire file, and the update process is completed in a short time. So
The recording capacity of the medium can be effectively used. However, if the entire file has a meaning as one unit like a general document file, when a sentence in a part of the file is added or deleted, all of the recording units after addition and deletion are added. Since the data of the recording unit has changed, it is necessary to update all the recording units after the added or deleted recording unit, and when viewed as information, data that has not changed in content is recorded on the medium. Need to re-record. Therefore, even with this method, there is a problem that the processing time is lengthened and the utilization efficiency of the recording capacity is reduced as in the method using the directory indicating the erasure.

On the other hand, in the conventional information recording / reproducing apparatus, when an optical card in which the EOD cannot be normally reproduced is mounted, an EOB detection operation is carried out every time the optical card is mounted in the apparatus unless data is additionally recorded on the optical card. There was a problem that time was spent for. That is, if the EOD cannot be reproduced normally, for example, all the data must be read and the EOB must be detected from the last recorded position, and the processing for detecting the EOB must be performed every time the optical card is mounted. Was needed.

Further, as described above, in a system for managing data by directory information, when an optical card is exchanged, it is general to read all directory information and prepare for data recording and reproduction. Normally, when the host computer reads all directory information, first, a command for requesting the number of all directory information is issued to the drive in order to secure a memory capable of storing all the directory information in the host computer. The host computer obtains the total number of directory information and then issues a directory information read command to the drive.
All the obtained directory information is stored in the memory. When such directory information is read, conventionally, when the host computer issues a command for requesting the total number of directories, the drive performs the final recording position detection to detect the number of directory information, and executes the position detection processing. Sometimes all directory information is read. However, this directory information is not transferred to the host computer, is read again by a directory information read command issued thereafter, and is transferred to the host computer. As described above, in the conventional case, it is necessary to read all the directory information to read all the directory information.
However, there is a problem in that the directory information is read once and it takes substantially longer than the reading time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to record on a recording medium that cannot be erased and rewritten without re-recording data whose contents have not changed on the recording medium. It is to provide a file management method capable of efficiently updating the file data of.

Further, according to the present invention, when the directory information cannot be normally reproduced, the final recording position is detected based on the normally reproduced directory information and the new directory information is recorded. An object of the present invention is to provide an information recording / reproducing apparatus which makes it unnecessary to detect the final recording position when a recording medium is mounted.

Further, according to the present invention, when a command is received after the recording medium has been exchanged, the final recording position is detected from the directory information and the whole or part of the directory information is stored in the storage means, whereby the directory information is stored. Another object of the present invention is to provide an information recording / reproducing apparatus capable of significantly reducing the time required to read directory information when a read request is made.

[0020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to sequentially record file data in each continuous recording unit of a data section, and to record a directory for managing the file data in a directory section to make a file. In a file management method for managing data, a file number indicating update of file data is provided in the directory, and when updating the data of an existing file, the updated data of the recording unit that is the update target, and The data of the recording unit newly added by the update is recorded in the data section as a separate file, the directory for managing the separate file is recorded in the directory section as the different file number, and the information in the directory is recorded. , Or relocation information of recording unit by updating as another directory, and The number of consecutive recording units is recorded, and the files having the same file name but different file numbers at the time of reproduction are managed as one file having another file in which an updated portion for the file having the smallest file number is divided and recorded. This is achieved by a file management method characterized by managing a recording unit area before update, which is shown to be updated by the rearrangement information, as an invalid recording unit area.

Another object of the present invention is to record data in a data unit of an information recording medium for each predetermined unit block and record directory information for managing this data in the directory unit for data management. In the information recording / reproducing apparatus for performing, when the directory information of the directory portion cannot be normally reproduced, the final recording position of the temporary data is determined from the directory information of the last directory portion that can be normally reproduced, and the temporary final position is determined. This is achieved by an information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that blocks of data are sequentially read from a recording position to detect a final recording position of actual data, and new directory information is recorded based on the obtained final recording position. ..

Further, an object of the present invention is to record or reproduce data on an exchangeable information recording medium based on an instruction from a host controller, and to manage the data for each predetermined data block on the recording medium. In an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording directory information and managing data, means for detecting that the recording medium has been replaced,
A means for storing the directory information recorded in the recording medium, and reading the directory information from the recording medium when the first command is received from the host controller after the recording medium is replaced. This is achieved by an information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that the final recording position is detected and all or part of the directory information is stored in the storage means.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, an embodiment of the file management method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the contents of the data section, the directory section, and the FAT when the information capacity is increased in the recording unit that is the update target due to the update, that is, when information is added as a result, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of the data section, the directory section, and the FAT when the information capacity is reduced in the recording unit that is the update target due to the update, that is, when the information is deleted as a result. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing contents of a directory part and a FAT. Also, FIGS.
3A is a diagram showing the data portion, FIG. 4B is a directory portion, and FIG.

First, the state before updating is shown in FIG.
Here, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), a file consisting of five recording units is recorded in the data part, and as shown in FIG. 3 (b), a directory (A1) for managing the file is stored in the directory part. Is recorded. In this embodiment, the file name is "A" and the file number is "n".
Will be referred to as directory A (n). Further, regarding the FAT shown in FIG. 3C, it is shown that the files starting from area 1 are continuous with area 2, area 3, area 4 and area 5. Note that FIG. 3 (c)
"FF" in the FAT area indicates that the file does not continue, that is, the last recording unit of the file. "0" indicates that the recording unit is unused ( (Data is not recorded). Although not shown in FIG. 3 (c),
“FE” indicates that the information of the recording unit corresponding to the area is invalid. The recording unit may actually be a track, a sector, or a cluster, but here the recording unit is a track. Further, in this embodiment, the FAT is not recorded on the recording medium and is reconstructed from the directory information reproduced at the time of reproduction as in the file management method described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2-263774. The target method will be described later in detail.

Next, a description will be given of the processing when the information capacity is increased in the recording unit which is the update target due to the update, that is, when the information is added as a result. For example,
If data is added to the track (recording unit) 3 in FIG. 1, a part of the data of the track 3 originally after the added data will overflow from the track 3, and a part of the data of the track 4 will be sequentially added. On track 5, track 5
Part of the above data (final part) must be recorded on a new track. Actually, the update of the file data on the erasable and rewritable recording medium is performed in this way,
As described above, using the same method for a recording medium that cannot be erased and rewritten is not preferable because it takes a long processing time and the utilization efficiency of the recording capacity of the recording medium is reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, since the data is added only to the track 3, the information of the updated track 3 is additionally recorded in the data part as a separate file at the time of recording. Further, a directory for managing the separate file is additionally recorded in the directory section, and the relocation information of the update and the number of continuous recording units thereof are recorded as information in the directory or the separate directory. By the way, when data is added, the above-mentioned “overflow” of data occurs, and the information after the update of the track 3 cannot be recorded in one track. It is additionally recorded as a file, and the number of continuous tracks is recorded in a directory for managing the separate file. This is shown in FIG. 1, which is a separate file A consisting of tracks 6 and 7.
(2) and a directory A (2) for managing the separate file are additionally recorded.

FIG. 4 shows the details of the directory A (2). In FIG. 4, FNM indicates a file name, and in this case, “A” is recorded. FNO indicates a file number, and "2" is recorded here. O
LD, NEW, and CNT are rearrangement information indicating the correspondence between the pre-updated track and the post-updated track, and in this case, the information of track 3 has been replaced with the information of two tracks starting from track 6. .. SIZE indicates the file size of another file A (2) managed by the directory A (2), and "S2" is recorded here.
In this case, S2 is always larger than the information capacity of one track and smaller than the information capacity of CNT tracks.

Next, reproduction of a file having such data update will be described. When playing a file,
First, all the directories on the recording medium are read in the memory of the host computer, and the FAT is built in the memory. FIG. 6 shows details of the directory A (1). FNM is "A", FNO is "1", OLD is "0", NEW is "1", and CNT is "5". ,
“S1” is shown in each SIZE. This is the first file with filename "A", track 1
It is indicated that the substance of the file is recorded on 5 tracks. That is, when OLD is “0”, it does not indicate correspondence between OLD and NEW, but NEW.
Indicates the head track number of the file managed by that directory. Of course, there is no problem if an area for recording the head track number of a file is provided in the directory without sharing such an area.

When the first directory A (1) shown in FIG. 6 is read, the following area numbers are written in areas 1 to 4 and "F" indicating the end of the file is written in area 5.
F "is written (FIG. 3C). Next, when A (2) shown in FIG. 4 is read, the substance of the file managed by the directory A (2) is the file A from the contents.
It is the update part of (1), and is track 3 of file A (1).
Since it can be seen that the information of 2 has been replaced by the information of the two tracks of tracks 6 and 7 of the file A (2), the recording corresponding to that area in the area 3 of the FAT as shown in FIG. 1 (c). “FE” indicating that the unit information is invalid is written. Further, the head track number 6 of another file A (2) in which the updated information is recorded is written in the area 2 immediately before the area 3, and the next area number 7 in the area 6 is invalid in the area 7. The track number 4 next to the track 3 is written. Thus, the FAT is constructed as shown in FIG. After the FAT is constructed, FA
If the information of the tracks is sequentially reproduced according to T, the updated information can be reproduced without error.

Next, a description will be given of the processing when the information capacity is reduced in the recording unit that is the update target due to the update, that is, when the information is deleted as a result. It is assumed that the data of the track 3 of the file A (1) before the update is updated as in the above example, and as a result, "vacant" occurs in a part of the track 3 after the update. In this case, if the recording medium is erasable and rewritable, part of the data of track 4 may be moved to track 3 and part of the data of track 5 may be moved to track 4. However, in the present embodiment, Such a method shall be taken. That is, only the updated track 3 data is additionally recorded in the data section as the separate file A (2), and the directory A (2) for managing the separate file A (2) is additionally recorded in the directory section. Figure 5 shows directory A
It shows the details of (2), where "A" is displayed in FNM.
“2” for O, “3” for OLD, “6” for NEW, “1” for CNT, “S3” for SIZE.
Are recorded respectively. In this case, S3 is always smaller than the recording capacity of one track.

When reproducing a file in which such data is updated, the directory A (1) is read and a FAT is constructed as shown in FIG. 3 (c). This process is the same as the above-mentioned addition. When the directory A (2) in FIG. 5 is read, the substance of the file managed by the directory A (2) is the file A from the contents.
It is the update part of (1), and is track 3 of file A (1).
Since it can be seen that the information of No. 6 has been replaced by the information of track 6 of file A (2), the information of the recording unit corresponding to that area is invalid in area 3 of the FAT as shown in FIG. 2 (c). “FE” indicating that there is is written, and the head track number 6 of another file A (2) in which the updated information is recorded in the area 2 immediately before the area 3 is invalid in the area 6. Track number 4 next to track 3 is written. In this way, the FAT is constructed as shown in FIG. After the FAT is constructed, if the information of the tracks is sequentially reproduced according to the FAT, the updated information can be reproduced without error.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when viewed as information, it is not necessary to re-record data that has not changed in content on the recording medium, and only the minimum necessary change is updated by updating. Since the data is recorded on the recording medium, not only the updating process is completed in a short time, but also the recording capacity of the recording medium can be effectively utilized, and the file data on the recording medium that cannot be erased and rewritten can be efficiently updated.

Next, an embodiment of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention will be described. First, the configuration of an embodiment of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 31 is a recording / reproducing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a drive) for recording and reproducing information using the write-once optical card 1 as an information recording medium. The drive 31 is connected to a host computer 32, which is a host controller, and records and reproduces information based on instructions from the host computer 32. 37
Is a motor for introducing the optical card 1 into the drive by a transport mechanism (not shown), reciprocating it in the R direction by a predetermined drive, and further discharging it to the outside of the apparatus. Reference numeral 38 denotes a light beam irradiation optical system including a light source, which forms a light beam spot on the optical card 1 at the time of recording information and reproducing information. 39 is a photodetector, which is the optical card 1
The reflected light of the upper light beam spot is received. Reference numeral 40 drives part of the light beam irradiation optical system 38 to move the focus position of the light beam spot on the surface of the optical card 1 in the Z direction, that is, the direction perpendicular to the surface of the optical card to perform autofocusing (A
The AF actuator 41 for performing F) drives a part of the light beam irradiation optical system 38 to move the light beam spot on the optical card surface in the Y direction, that is, in the direction orthogonal to both the R direction and the Z direction. It is an AT actuator for moving and performing automatic tracking (AT). An optical head 50 is configured by integrating the light beam irradiation optical system 38, the photodetector 39, the AF actuator 40, the AT actuator 41, and the like. 36 is this optical head 5
0 in the Y direction to move the light beam spot to the optical card 1
A drive motor to access the desired truck above.

Reference numeral 33 denotes an MPU having a built-in ROM and RAM, which controls a card feed motor 37 and a head feed motor 36, and controls the host computer 32 to perform data communication and control with the host computer 32.
The AT / AF control circuit 34 receives the signal from the photodetector 39, and receives the AF actuator 40 and the AT actuator 41.
Drive and control focusing and tracking.
In this case, the output of the photodetector 39 is the AT / AF control circuit 3
4 is input to the control circuit 34, and the control circuit 34 controls the AF actuator 40 and the AT actuator 41 to control the AF and the AT. The output of the photodetector 39 is also output to the modulation / demodulation circuit 35, the read information is demodulated, and the demodulated signal is sent to the MPU 33. The modulation / demodulation circuit 35 modulates the information signal sent from the MPU 33, drives the light beam irradiation optical system 38 in accordance with the modulation signal to execute information recording, and at the time of reproduction, based on the signal of the photodetector 39 Demodulate. Host computer 3
2 transmits / receives data to / from the drive 31, and the optical card 1
Instruct to record / reproduce information for each data track to,
The drive 31 executes recording and reproducing operations based on this instruction.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation from the mounting of the optical card of the information recording / reproducing apparatus to the ejection thereof. The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, when the optical card 1 is first inserted into a card insertion opening (not shown) of the drive 31, M
The PU 33 controls the motor 37 to convey the optical card 1 to a predetermined position in the apparatus, and then controls each part to output a light beam to all the directory parts 20 _{1 to} 20 _{n + 1} of the optical card 1 as shown in FIG. Is scanned to reproduce all directory information recorded therein (S1). When reproducing all the directory information, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-199166, it is detected that a predetermined number of blank spaces are continuous to detect the EOD which is the final recording position of the directory information. To do. And MPU33
Determines whether or not the directory detected as EOD can be normally played back (S2), and if it can be played back normally, it will be in a waiting state waiting for a recording / playback command from the host computer 32, and based on an instruction from the host computer 32. Recording and reproducing are performed (S3). After this, optical card 1
Is issued (S4), the MPU 33 controls the motor 37 to eject the optical card 1 out of the apparatus and ends the process (S5).

On the other hand, if the directory information cannot be normally reproduced due to dirt or scratches on the optical card 1 after recording the directory and the EOD cannot be reproduced, MP
U33 temporarily determines the EOB address recorded in the last directory that was successfully reproduced, that is, the address of the last recording position of the data, as a temporary EOB address (S
6). For example, as shown in FIG.
_{If n-1} is the last directory that was successfully reproduced, the EO recorded in that directory 20 _n-1 .
The B address is determined as a temporary EOB address. Next, the MPU 33 sequentially reads the data of the optical card 1 from the position of the determined temporary EOB address, and detects the actual EOB by detecting that a predetermined number of blank blocks are continuous during this reading (S7). ). Of course, in the detection of this EOB, the block immediately before the first block among the predetermined number of consecutive blank blocks is detected as the final recording position. Thus the actual E
When OB is detected, the host computer 32 waits for a recording / reproducing command, and the drive 31 executes recording / reproducing based on the issued command (S).
8).

When an optical card eject command is issued from the host computer 32 (S9), the MPU 33 determines whether a new directory has been recorded (S10). Here, if the directory is newly recorded, that is, if the recording process is performed in S8 and the directory information for managing the recorded information is recorded, it is not necessary to newly record the directory. ,
The optical card 1 is ejected to the outside of the machine and the process ends (S5).
On the other hand, if the directory is not newly recorded, that is, if the reproduction process other than the recording is performed in S8, the directory is newly recorded based on the EOB searched previously (S11). At this time, the directory information is recorded in the directory section next to the directory section that could not be normally reproduced when the directory information was previously reproduced. For example, if the directory section 20 _n-1 shown in FIG. 9 is the last directory that can be normally reproduced as described above, the next directory section 20 _n cannot be normally reproduced and is defective. Since it can be considered, it is recorded in the next directory portion 20 _{n + 1} . After that, the optical card 1 is ejected to the outside of the machine and the process is finished (S5).

As described above, in this embodiment, when the directory cannot be reproduced normally, the EOB is searched and a new directory is recorded based on the EOB. Therefore, the same optical card is used thereafter. It is not necessary to search the EOB again when the optical card is mounted, and it is possible to solve the problem that a wasteful time is spent for searching the EOB each time the optical card is mounted, unlike the conventional case.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, the same steps as those in FIG. 8 have the same step numbers. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, before the optical card ejection command is issued, for example, when the processing is forcibly ended by powering off the device,
When the optical card is inserted again without recording the directory, the EOB search process must be executed.
Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
B is determined (S6), and when an actual EOB is detected by sequentially reading blocks from the temporary EOB (S7), a new directory is immediately recorded based on the EOB obtained (S11). .. The recording position of the directory is, of course, the directory next to the directory that could not be normally reproduced as in the embodiment of FIG. As described above, in this embodiment, even if the processing is completed by power-off or the like before the optical card ejection command, the directory is always recorded, so that the EOB search is performed even when the optical card is attached for the second time or later. Need not be executed, and the time for the EOB search processing can be more reliably saved as compared with the embodiment of FIG.

Next, another embodiment of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention will be described. First, the configuration of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 60 is a host computer, which is a host controller, and 61 is an information recording / reproducing apparatus (drive) connected to the host computer 60. The host computer 60 and the drive 61 are connected by a bus 62, and the host computer 60 and the drive 61 are connected via this bus 62.
Commands and data are sent and received between them. Drive 61
The specific configuration of is as follows. First, reference numeral 63 is a CPU for controlling the entire apparatus as a whole, which controls each section according to a control program stored in a program memory (ROM) 64 to control the recording / reproducing operation of information.
Reference numeral 65 is a working area (RAM) used when the CPU 63 executes various processes. The working area 65 includes registers. Further, 66 is a directory buffer for storing the directory information read from the optical card 1 which is an information recording medium. In this embodiment, a directory is used to manage the data of the optical card 1 as described in FIG. 17, and the directory buffer 66 is a memory for storing the directory information.

An optical head 67 is composed of various optical elements such as a semiconductor laser as a light source, an objective lens for narrowing the laser beam into a minute light spot, and a sensor for detecting the light reflected from the optical card 1. Is.
The optical head 67 moves in the direction orthogonal to the information track of the optical card 1 by driving the pulse motor 68, and is positioned on the information track instructed by the host computer 60. Reference numeral 69 is a recording / reproducing circuit for modulating the recording data transferred from the host computer 60 or for processing a signal detected by a sensor in the optical head 67 to generate reproduction data. When information is recorded, the recording data transferred from the host computer 60 is recorded / reproduced by the recording / reproducing circuit 6.
For example, MFM modulation is performed at 9, and the laser beam of the semiconductor laser of the optical head 67 is intensity-modulated according to this modulation signal, so that a series of information is recorded as pits on the information track of the optical card 1. On the other hand, at the time of reproducing information, the signal detected by the sensor of the optical head 67 is the recording / reproducing circuit 69.
The reproduced data is generated by performing predetermined binarization processing and demodulation processing here.

Reference numeral 70 denotes a loading section for transporting an optical card inserted in a card insertion opening (not shown) of the drive 61 to a predetermined position in the drive 61, or ejecting an optical card in the machine to the card insertion opening. The loading unit 70 sets a flag when an optical card is inserted, and the CPU 63 detects that the optical card has been replaced by this flag. After the CPU 63 reads the flag, the flag is reset and prepared for the next optical card replacement. Reference numeral 71 is a card feeding unit for moving the optical card 1 back and forth in the information track direction. The optical card 1 is reciprocally moved in the information track direction by driving the card feeding unit 71, and at this time, the light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser is controlled so as not to deviate from the information track by the auto-tracking control of a tracking control circuit (not shown). It As a result, the light beam scans the information track, and as described above, a series of information is recorded on the information track or the information on the information track is reproduced. Of course, at the same time as the auto-tracking control, auto-focus control is performed by a focus control circuit (not shown), and the light beam is scanned on the information track while focusing on the recording surface of the optical card 1.

12 to 16 are flowcharts showing the operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment. First, Fig. 1
The process of detecting the final recording position of the directory information will be described based on 2. This detection processing is performed when the first command is received after the optical card is exchanged, as will be described later. In FIG. 12, first, the CPU 63 controls each part to move the optical head 67 to the directory part of the optical card 1 and sequentially reads the directory information from the beginning (S1). Next, the CPU 63 determines whether or not all directory information has been read (S2), and if all directory information has been read, the process ends. on the other hand,
If all directory information has not been read, add to counter A for counting directory information (not shown)
Then (S3), it is determined whether or not the directory buffer 66 has a free area for storing the directory information (S4). The determination as to whether or not all directory information has been read is made by, for example, determining that all directory information has been read when an unrecorded track is detected when sequentially reading the directory portion. If the directory buffer 66 has a free area, the read directory information is stored in the free area (S5), and the counter B for counting the number of directory information stored in the directory buffer 66 is incremented by 1 (S6). S1 again
Return to. Then, the processes of S1 to S6 are repeatedly executed,
The process ends when all the directory information has been read. On the other hand, if there is no free area in the directory buffer 66, the process returns to S1 and the processes of S1 to S4 are repeated until all the directory information is read.

As a result, all or part of all directory information is stored in the directory buffer 66, and the counter A holds the number of all directory information.
The counter B holds the number of directory information stored in the directory buffer 66. Therefore, the final recording position of the directory information can be detected from the above information, and the directory buffer 6 can be used for subsequent directory information read commands from the host computer 60.
The directory information stored in the directory buffer 66 is not read from the optical card 1 again, and the directory buffer 66
Since it can be directly transferred from the host computer to the host computer 60, the processing time of the directory information read command can be greatly shortened. By recording the directory information including the final recording position information of the data such as the final data track, the final data recording position can be obtained from the final directory information.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for reading all directory information. This processing is performed based on the instruction from the host computer. Here, the number of all directory information obtained by the processing of FIG. 11 is N, and the number of directory information stored in the directory buffer 66 is M. In FIG. 13, first, the CPU
63 sets the above numerical values of N and M in the register of the working area 65 (S1), and the directory buffer 66
The directory information is transferred to the host computer 60 in order from the top directory information stored in (S2). Then CPU6
3 determines whether M and N are equal, that is, whether or not all directory information has been transferred to the host computer 60 (S
3) If M = N, the number M of directory information in the directory buffer 66 transferred to the host computer 60
Since the number N of all directory information is the same, it is judged that all the directory information has been transferred, and the processing is ended.
On the other hand, if M and N are not equal, the CPU 63 executes the following processing in order to read the remaining directory information not stored in the directory buffer 66 from the optical card 1. First, the directory information next to the last directory information stored in the directory buffer 66, that is, M
The + 1st directory information is read from the optical card 1 (S4), and the read directory information is transferred to the host computer 60 (S5). Then CPU6
3 adds 1 to the value of M set in the register (S6),
It returns to S3 again and performs the same processing. That is, from the optical card 1 to the M + 2nd and M + 3rd optical card 1
The directory information is sequentially read from and is transferred to the host computer 60, and the processing ends when all the directory information is transferred. When reading the directory information in this way, as described above, the directory buffer 6
Since only the directory information that is not stored in 6 needs to be read, the processing time can be shortened. Of course, if the capacity of the directory buffer 66 is large, it is not necessary to read the directory information from the optical card 1 again.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of command processing of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment. Figure 1
In 4, the command issued from the host computer 60 is first received by the interface unit (not shown) of the drive 61 and sent to the CPU 63 (S1). CP
As described above, the U63 reads the flag of the loading unit 70 and determines whether the optical card 1 has been replaced (S2). In this case, if the flag is set, CP
U63 determines that the optical card 1 has been replaced, and
The detection process of the final recording position shown in is executed (S3).
In this final recording position detection processing, the directory information is read from the optical card 1 as described above, and the final recording position of the directory information and the final recording position of the data are detected. When the final recording position is detected, the CPU 63 executes the processing of the received command (S4). For example, if it is a recording command, the host computer 60 executes the above-mentioned operation.
The data transferred from the optical disk is recorded from the position after the final recording position of the optical card, and if it is a data read command, the information of the specified position is read and the host computer 60
Transfer to. Further, when the command of the host computer 60 is a read command of all directory information, the read process of all directory information as described with reference to FIG. 13 is executed. In this case, the final recording position detection is performed as described above. Directory buffer 66 during processing
The directory information stored in 1 is transferred to the host computer 60 without being read from the optical card 1 again, and only the directory information not in the directory buffer 66 is read from the optical card 1 and transferred. On the other hand, if the optical card 1 has not been replaced, the final recording position detection processing of the currently installed optical card has already been completed, so direct command processing is executed (S4).

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing when an optical card eject command is issued.
In FIG. 15, when a command is first received from the host computer 60 (S1), the CPU 63 determines whether or not the received command is a discharge command for the optical card 1 (S2). It is discharged to the outside of the machine and the process ends (S5). On the other hand, if it is not a discharge command, the CPU 63 determines that the loading unit 7 has
The flag of 0 is read to determine whether the optical card 1 has been exchanged (S3), and if not exchanged, the received command is processed (S5). If it has been exchanged, the final recording position detecting process is executed (S4), and then the process of the received command is executed (S5). in this way,
When an optical card eject command is issued, the optical card is ejected without performing the final recording position detection process even if it is the first command after the optical card is replaced, and the optical card is inserted by mistake. Even at that time, it can be immediately discharged without performing unnecessary processing.

Here, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-77959, the recording area of one optical card is divided into a plurality of blocks (partitions), and data and directory information are recorded in each partition. There is an information recording / reproducing system in which each partition is treated as one optical card. In such a system, recording and reproduction processing is performed by moving to the partition designated by the partition moving command. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing when the partition move command is received. In FIG. 16, when a command is first received from the host computer 60 (S1), the CPU 63 determines whether the received command is a partition move command (S2), and if it is a partition move command, the optical head 67 is instructed. To another partition (S5). On the other hand, if the received command is not a partition move command, it is determined whether the optical card has been replaced (S3), and if not, the process of the received command is executed (S5). If it has been exchanged, the final recording position detecting process is executed (S4), and then the process of the received command is executed (S5). When the partition move command is received in this way,
Even if it is the first command after the optical card is exchanged, it is possible to immediately move to the instructed partition without performing the unnecessary processing by moving the partition without detecting the final recording position.

As described above, in this embodiment, when a command is received, it is detected whether or not the optical card is replaced. When the optical card is replaced, the command is sent from the optical card before the command is executed. The directory information read time when the directory information read command is issued by reading all directory information to detect the final recording position of the directory information and data and storing all or part of the directory information in the directory buffer. Can be significantly shortened compared to the conventional one. That is, by transferring the directory information stored in the directory buffer to the host computer, the directory information read processing time can be efficiently shortened without reading the directory information from the optical card twice as in the conventional case. Data recording by,
It is possible to shorten the time until the reproduction can be performed.

[0049]

As described above, according to the file management method of the present invention, it is not necessary to re-record the data whose contents have not changed on the recording medium, and to record only the minimum necessary change caused by the update. Since the data can be recorded on the medium, not only the update process is completed in a short time, but also the capacity of the recording medium can be effectively used, and the file data of the recording medium that cannot be erased and rewritten can be efficiently updated. .. Also,
According to the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, when the directory information cannot be normally reproduced, the actual final recording position is detected based on the normally reproduced directory information, and based on the obtained final recording position. By newly recording the directory information, the detection operation of the final recording position when the same recording medium is inserted thereafter can be omitted. Further, the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention reads the directory information of the recording medium to detect the final recording position when the command is received after the recording medium is exchanged, and stores all or part of the directory information. By storing it in the means, the processing time for reading the directory information can be significantly shortened compared to the conventional case when the reading of the directory information is requested from the host controller, and thereby the time until recording and reproduction can be shortened. There is an effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment based on a file management method of the present invention, and is a schematic diagram showing states of data, directories, and FAT when there is an update accompanied by an increase in data.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state of data, a directory, and a FAT when there is an update accompanied by a decrease in data.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the state of data, directory, and FAT before update.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of a directory recorded when there is an update accompanied by an increase in data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of a directory recorded when there is an update accompanied by a decrease in data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of a directory before updating.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing from when the optical card is mounted to when the optical card is discharged according to the embodiment of FIG.

9 is a diagram showing a recording surface of an optical card used in the embodiment of FIG.

10 is a flowchart showing another processing example of the embodiment in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.

12 is a flowchart showing a flow of final recording position detection processing in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of directory information reading processing of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a processing flow when a command is received in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when an optical card eject command of the embodiment of FIG. 11 is received.

16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when a partition move command according to the embodiment of FIG. 11 is received.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a recording surface of a general optical card.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the concept of FAT.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a conventional directory information reading process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Card 32,60 Host Computer 31,61 Information Recording / Reproducing Device (Drive) 33 MPU 50,67 Optical Head 63 CPU 66 Directory Buffer 69 Recording / Reproducing Circuit 70 Loading Section

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A file management method for managing file data by sequentially recording file data for each predetermined recording unit of a data section and recording a directory for managing the file data in the directory section. When the file number indicating the update of the file data is provided in the directory and the data of the existing file is updated, the updated data of the recording unit of the update target and the recording unit newly added by the update Data as a separate file in the data section, and a directory for managing the separate file in the directory section is recorded as the file number as a different number, and information in the directory or a recording unit by updating as a different directory Relocation information and the number of continuous recording units are recorded and played. Sometimes files having the same file name but different file numbers are managed as one file having another file in which an updated portion for the file having the smallest file number is divided and recorded, and it is indicated that the file has been updated by the relocation information. A file management method characterized in that the recording unit area before updating is managed as an invalid recording unit area. 2. An information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording data in a data unit of an information recording medium for each predetermined unit block and recording directory information for managing this data in the directory unit for data management. When the directory information of the directory portion cannot be normally reproduced, the final recording position of the temporary data is determined from the directory information of the last normally reproduced directory portion, and the blocks are sequentially recorded from the temporary final recording position. An information recording / reproducing apparatus, which reads data, detects a final recording position of actual data, and records new directory information based on the obtained final recording position. 3. Data is recorded or reproduced on an exchangeable information recording medium based on an instruction from a host controller, and directory information for managing data is recorded on the recording medium for each predetermined data block. In an information recording / reproducing apparatus for managing data, means for detecting exchange of the recording medium and means for storing directory information recorded on the recording medium are provided.
When the first command is received from the host controller after the recording medium is exchanged, the directory information is read from the recording medium to detect the final recording position, and all or part of the directory information is recorded. An information recording / reproducing device characterized by storing in a storage means. 4. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the recording medium eject command is received from the host controller, the recording medium is ejected outside the apparatus without detecting the final recording position. 5. When the partition move command is received from the host controller, the partition move is performed without detecting the final recording position.
Information recording / reproducing apparatus.