JPH09179790A - Digital recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording and reproducing device for a stable system capable of preventing the generation of malfunction such as the destruction of all information even when a battery has been consumed. SOLUTION: A battery detection control means 20 detects the output voltage of the battery. When the detected voltage is less than a prescribed value, load is maximized (controlled by respective control means) and the system is driven for prescribed time. When the system runs down, a power supply is turned off. If the system operation is available even when the load is maximized, the load is reduced and a management table 8b is rewritten. After the rewriting, the power supply is turned off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital recording / reproducing apparatus using a solid-state memory as a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, to record and reproduce sound, a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus such as a tape recorder using a magnetic tape as a recording medium has been used. When a magnetic tape or the like is used, there is an advantage that the recording time is determined by the length of the magnetic tape wound on a tape reel or the like, so that recording can be performed for a long time. On the other hand, so-called random access, in which the user wants to instantly reproduce what he wants to hear, is not possible. Therefore, in recent years, randomly accessible disks and solid-state memories (so-called semiconductor memories) have become mainstream.

In these recording / reproducing apparatuses, the concept of chapters is introduced in order to explain means for utilizing random access. A chapter (CHAPTER) handles information recorded by one recording operation as one piece of information, and literally means one important division.

[0004] This chapter is not limited to the time from the start to the end when the recording / playback instruction is given by the operation button, but also includes one that detects the audio level by a hard switch or the like and automatically starts and ends the audio recording. Of course, it is possible to use not only one piece of information from start to stop but also automatic classification and allocation to a plurality of chapters.

By the way, even if the recording medium is a disk or a solid-state memory, when sorting these chapters,
Normally, it is necessary to provide a management table for managing chapters.

There are various methods for such management, but in a semiconductor memory or the like, a start address and an end address are often recorded in a table for management. FIG.
Shows an example of a management table, and is an example in which information such as a start address and an end address for each chapter is written in a predetermined location at the start of recording, during recording, or at the end of recording. The recorded contents are managed using this table.

By the way, in order to start these systems, a power supply for operating the systems is naturally required. Dry batteries and batteries are used for these devices as power sources for portable devices, etc., but as these dry battery batteries are used, their capacity will be exhausted and eventually the system cannot be started. become.

Where the control system always checks the voltage at the time of start-up and when it is lower than a certain voltage, the current operation, for example, if recording is in progress, the recording is terminated and the contents up to the present are finally determined. Processing such as writing to the management table and stopping the operation is performed. This pattern is shown in the flow of FIG.

Each step is denoted by S. S
A flow chart shows that a decrease in the power supply voltage is detected at 30 and if the voltage drops below a certain value, the operation is checked and the system is terminated.

The problem here is the output characteristics of a consumed dry battery or battery. That is, when a dry battery or a battery that has been used many times, in other words, a dry battery or a battery that has a high degree of wear is used, the output characteristics are as shown in FIG. 8B.

As shown in FIG. 8 (A), if the battery is a battery or a battery with low consumption, it is determined whether or not the warning level (threshold value) has been exceeded, and the subsequent steps (S31 to S3).
Even if the processes up to 6) are performed, the management table can be sufficiently updated. However, in the characteristic of FIG. 8B, if the processes of S31 to S35 are performed, the system may stop during operation. In this case, the power supply voltage drops abnormally,
The memory contents may be rewritten due to system runaway or fluctuations in the power supply or signal voltage during writing. In addition, there is a problem that a change in the power supply voltage or the signal voltage may give an impact to the recording portion and destroy all the data in the semiconductor device.

[0012]

As described above, when a dry battery, a battery or the like is used as a power source, there is a possibility that all the recorded contents will be destroyed when the battery is consumed.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus for a stable system, which prevents a malfunction that would destroy all information even when the battery is exhausted. .

[0014]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the present invention, the management table is multiplexed and prepared for the destruction of the management table. For example, there is a configuration in which management tables are created in different areas, and when one area is destroyed, data is read from the other area. In addition, there is a configuration in which, for example, two semiconductor devices are prepared and the destruction is dealt with in case the contents of all the semiconductor devices are destroyed due to fluctuations in the power supply and the like. The invention of claim 1 shows the configuration of multiplexing of the management table.

The contents of rewriting are the inventions of claims 2 and 3.

A check bit such as a checksum is added to the content of one of the management tables and recorded, and then read and calculated again to check and compare with the recorded check bit. There is. As a result, the recorded contents destroyed are grasped, and only the destroyed portion is rewritten with the data in the other management table which is not destroyed. In addition, since both cases may be destroyed, in this case, all the contents are rewritten to the predetermined contents.

Furthermore, the inventions according to claims 4 to 7 further include means for detecting the capacity of the power supply so that the system can be turned off accordingly. In order to determine whether or not the system can operate, a threshold value is set, and whether or not the system operation is continued is determined depending on whether or not the threshold value is exceeded.

Here, the capacity of the power supply is determined from the detection result by a threshold value, and if it is less than or equal to the threshold value, it is determined whether or not this power supply is an exhausted power supply, and a pseudo load is run. . In other words, if the power supply is exhausted, the capacity of the power supply disappears immediately due to the output characteristics. Therefore, the load is further ran to detect the power supply capacity. Therefore, if the power supply is exhausted, the system will stop, and this can prevent the system from going down during recording. If the system does not go down, the load can be reduced, the management table can be updated, and the system can be turned off. Therefore, the recorded contents can be prevented from being destroyed with a minimum amount of damage, and after the battery is replaced, the reading can be performed according to the management table.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of a digital recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. At the start of recording, the recording button 12 provided on the operation unit 1
The mode transition control means 2 detects that is pressed. By this transition to the recording mode, a recording start instruction is issued to the DSP (abbreviation of Digital Sound Processor) control means 7. In response to this, the DSP control means 7 controls the DSP to perform the compression operation. The voice input unit includes a microphone 51, a filter 52, and an A / D conversion circuit 5.
3 and the like are supplied to the DSP 6.
The DSP 6 and the memory control means 9 record the audio signal from the audio input unit in the memory.

The memory 8 is divided into a voice data storage section and a management table section. The voice data storage section is designated by reference numeral 8a and the management table is designated by reference numeral 8b. Further, a plurality of this management tables are provided and multiplexed.

The memory control means 9 (recording / reproducing means) writes to and reads from the memory 8, and controls so as to perform writing during recording and reading during reproduction.

The management table control means 11 can write the start address and the end address of the area recorded in the memory 8 by one recording operation, and can refer to the start address and the end address for reading when reproducing. This pattern is shown in Figure 2.
Shown in FIG. 2A shows only the management table, and FIG.
Indicates memory, respectively.

The recording operation up to this point has been described. Now, the reproducing operation will be described. The mode transition control means 2 detects that the reproduction button 11 has been pressed and notifies the DSP control means 7 of the transition to the reproduction mode. The DSP control means 7 issues a reproduction instruction to the DSP 6 and reproduces the recorded signal from the memory. At this time, the DSP 6 reproduces the compressed signal after decompressing and restoring the signal. The reproduced audio signal is converted into an analog signal via the D / A conversion circuit 101,
It is output from the speaker 103.

The display control unit 4 and the display unit 3 are provided to display the recorded portion, and the user looks for the portion to be reproduced while looking at this display. By fast-forwarding (FF) or rewinding (REW), the part to be reproduced can be searched and reproduced. The specific configuration of this portion is described in detail in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 7-104093 filed by the present applicant.

Therefore, if it is desired to reproduce the portion displayed by the display means 3, the portion corresponding to the portion is searched for in the management table 8b and reproduced.
The user can easily play the part he or she wants to play.

The creation of the management table will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. Voice input unit 5 via the DSP 6
In this case, the management table control means 11 searches the information of the memory 8b for the number of chapters recorded in the past and the end address thereof.

In FIG. 2, up to chapter 3 has already been recorded, and recording is performed as chapter 4 from 0101 address obtained by adding 1 to the end address. At this time, the start address is written into the management table 8b, and at the time of recording, each time the write address is increased, this address is continued as the end address. This operation is continued until the stop button 13 is pressed. Therefore, the write address at the end of recording by the stop button is written in the management table 8b as the end address.

By repeating this, the start address and end address of each chapter are written in the management table. Since the management table 8b is created and read out with such a configuration, it is necessary to correctly update the management table after recording is completed in order to perform correct reproduction.

The problem here is that the system is down due to insufficient capacity of the power source, which has been a problem in the past. In other words, if the system goes down while the management table is being updated, not only the management table but all recorded contents will be destroyed.

Therefore, it is necessary to assume this to some extent to avoid danger.

What is provided to realize this is the battery detection control means 20 which is the first detection means. The output voltage of the dry cell or battery 22 was detected by the battery detection control means 20 and the capacity of the battery was confirmed. Here, the analog voltage is digitally converted to A
Conversion was performed by the / D conversion unit 21 and detection was performed.

This is supplied to the mode transition control means 2 and the management table control means 11 to control the recording operation or rewriting operation.

Here, the battery detection control means 20 detects whether or not the capacity of the power supply has reached a predetermined value, and in accordance with this result, the dummy load is further run to detect the capacity of the power supply. Here, the power consumption level can be detected according to the detection result detected by the battery detection control means 20 which is the first detection means. That is, the second detecting means is provided. Therefore, the first and second
With the detection means described above, it is possible to respond according to the remaining amount of the power supply.

For the dummy load, power is supplied to a portion unrelated to the recording operation by the mode transition control means 2 or the like,
I got it. If this artificial load (heavy load) is applied for a certain period of time and the system goes down,
The power is turned off. Therefore, although the recorded contents before updating are not accessed to the management table 8b, the recorded contents are not destroyed. Note that the power is turned off by cutting off the power supply to each power supply terminal. Further, FIG. 3 shows a flow of the detecting operation by the first detecting means and the second detecting means. S2
Is a part detected by the battery detection control means, and S
Reference numeral 3 indicates a portion detected by the second detecting means.
Therefore, it can be seen from the flow that the management table is updated (S7) and the power is turned off when the system does not go down after a predetermined time (S4) (S5). In S6, it is shown that the load is reduced and the update is performed.

Further, while the management table 8b is updated, if the dry battery or the battery has the ability to hold up, the load is reduced and the management table 8b is updated. The power is turned off after writing. Here, for example, if a portion for displaying the presence or absence of the battery is provided, the user can be prompted to replace the dry battery or the battery.

A case in which everything is not destroyed will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, rewriting is performed according to the flow when a part of the multiplexed management table is destroyed.

The flow of FIG. 4A shows the flow of writing, and FIG. 4B shows the flow of rewriting. Here, as shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 4A and 4B, whether or not the written contents were destroyed was added by adding a checksum (check sum). That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the checksum is calculated at the time of recording (S
9) Then, it is recorded and placed in each table, and at the time of reading, this time a checksum is calculated from the recorded contents and compared with the recorded checksum so that it can be confirmed whether or not the recorded contents have been destroyed. I did it.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an example of a duplicated table, and the tables are denoted by the symbols A and B for distinction, and description will be added. First, the table A is read (S13), and the checksum is calculated (S
14). This checksum and the recorded checksum are compared and determined (S15), and the table B is read this time (S16). Further, the chuck sum of the table B is calculated in the same manner to make a determination (S16 to S18, S20).
~ S21). Therefore, it suffices if the rewriting corresponding to the four cases can be performed.

The first case is a case where neither the table A nor the table B is destroyed, and in this case, the process ends without rewriting.

In the second case, A is not destroyed, but B is destroyed. In this case, the contents of A are written in B (S19).

The third case is when A is destroyed and B is not. In this case, B is written to A (S23), and the process is ended.

The fourth case is a case where both tables are destroyed, in which case both tables are initialized (S
24).

In the first to third cases, it is impossible to reproduce the latest recorded information, but the recorded contents can be reproduced by the management information before that. With the above configuration, it is possible to avoid the worst situation in which all information is lost. Further, if the management information is not destroyed, it can be reproduced, so that the management table can be artificially created and the recorded contents can be reproduced.

This pattern is shown in FIG. It is unknown what is written in the management table as shown in FIG. 5, but if all the data is destroyed (FIG. 5 (A))
Then, it is all high, that is, FFFF).
As shown in (B), writing is performed in order, a management table is created, and the power is turned off.

With this arrangement, Japanese Patent Application No. 2 already filed
As described in the specification of No. 81796, it is possible to restore the management table to a state close to the original state by performing editing work (combining or dividing, etc.).

As described above, in a randomly accessible recording / reproducing device using a dry battery or a battery, even if the dry battery or the battery is exhausted and the output voltage suddenly drops, all the recorded contents are recorded. It is possible to prevent problems such as destruction.

Although the recording / reproducing apparatus for the solid-state memory has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a random-access recording / reproducing apparatus using a disc.

[0048]

As described above, according to the invention described in the claims, even if the life of the power source is extremely short, all the recorded contents will not be destroyed. Therefore, a highly reliable system can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a digital recording / reproducing apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a management table.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a detection operation for confirming the capacity of a power supply.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining rewriting of a management table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining forced rewriting of a management table.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional management table.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a battery check.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing output characteristics of a battery. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of the conventional battery check.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Operating means 2 ... Mode transition control means 4 ... Display control means 9 ... Memory control means 20 ... Battery detection control means

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium in which input data can be written and the written data can be read out, a recording / reproducing unit for recording data in the recording medium or reproducing data from the recording medium, and the recording. The number of records to be recorded in one operation on the recording medium, which is provided with an operation means for giving a recording or reproduction instruction to the reproducing means and a management table for managing each recording area of the recording medium. And a management unit for managing each recording area, wherein the management table is multiplexed. 2. In addition to claim 1, inspecting means for inspecting whether or not the recorded contents of the multiplexed management table are destroyed, and if it is determined from the inspection result by the inspecting means that it has been destroyed. The digital recording / reproducing apparatus is characterized in that a means for writing other recorded management information or predetermined management information to the destroyed portion is added to the. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising means for forcibly rewriting the management information into a predetermined content when any of the recorded information in the multiplexed table is destroyed. Digital recording / reproducing device. 4. In addition to the invention according to claim 2 or 3, in order to make the recording / reproducing apparatus operable during the management table update period, a power supply capacity necessary for this is detected. A digital recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that detection means is added. 5. The first detecting means for detecting whether or not the power supply voltage is lower than a predetermined value, and the detecting means for detecting a power consumption of the power supply by applying a pseudo load to the power supply. The digital recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a second detecting means. 6. The second detecting means comprises means for running a pseudo load for a predetermined time and detecting whether or not the system becomes inoperable due to this load. 5. The digital recording / reproducing apparatus according to item 5. 7. The detecting means according to claim 6, wherein when the pseudo load cannot be withstood, means for turning off the power source as inoperable, and when the pseudo load is withstood, 7. The digital recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: means for reducing the load, updating the management table, and turning off the power after the update is completed.