JPH11149352A - Data transfer controller and video recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To write data in a data storage device at a prescribed speed without causing overflow in an inner buffer in a data transfer controller which is laid between peripheral equipment and the data storage device, and which receives data transferred from the peripheral equipment and writes data in the data storage device. SOLUTION: In a data transfer controller 1, a transfer speed arbiter 3 measures write time when a main control part 6 writes write time measurement data stored in a data storage part 8 into a data storage device 10, generates transfer speed designation data designating data transfer speed of peripheral equipment 12 based on measured write time and outputs generated transfer speed designation data to the main control part 6. The main control part 6 sets transfer speed designation data outputted from the transfer speed arbiter 3 in the peripheral equipment 12 through an input/output I/F part 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention intervenes between a peripheral device and a data storage device and inputs data transferred from the peripheral device (particularly, data continuously transferred from the peripheral device). A data transfer control device that writes data to a data storage device at a constant speed without causing an internal buffer to overflow.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of an operation of writing data to a data storage device is, for example, a personal computer (PC).
The operation of writing data stored in a peripheral device such as a hard disk or a floppy disk into a memory card represented by an IC card or a compact flash will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 19, 2 is a PC, 4 is a buffer, 6 is a main controller, 5 is an I / F fame generator, 7 is an input / output I / F, 11 is a memory card, and 12 is a peripheral device. .

First, in the PC 2, the main control unit 6
Acquires a write command for the memory card 11 from the I / F command generation unit 5 and transfers the obtained write command to the memory card 11 via the input / output I / F unit 7.

When the memory card 11 receives a write command from the PC 2, the memory card 11 outputs a write command request signal RDY.
After making the (READY) signal inactive and judging the contents of the instruction, the write data transfer request is transferred to the PC 2.

In the PC 2, upon receiving a write data transfer request from the memory card 11, the main controller 6 acquires data to be written to the memory card 11 from the peripheral device 12, stores the data in the buffer 4, and stores the data in the buffer 4. The written data is transferred to the memory card 11 via the input / output I / F unit 7.

When the memory card 11 receives write data from the PC 2, the memory card 11 writes the received write data to an address according to the contents of the command. When the writing is completed, the memory card 11 notifies the end of the writing by activating the RDY signal.

Note that the data storage device (in the above example,
The memory card 11. ) Data writing speed
Since there is no particular rule, it differs depending on the type of data storage device.

In recent years, an image recording apparatus for converting a still image captured by a camera into image data and writing the image data in a memory card has been developed.

In this type of image recording apparatus, when writing image data to a memory card, the image data may cause an error and erroneous image data may be written to the memory card. For example, there is a technique described in JP-A-5-183860.

According to this technique, a still image captured by a camera is converted into image data and stored in a first recording medium, and then the image is transferred from the first recording medium to a memory card as a second recording medium. When transferring image data from the first recording medium to the second recording medium and detecting that an error has occurred in the image data, the transfer speed is reduced. It was done.

In this type of image recording apparatus,
Instead of writing image data to a memory card, the image data can be transferred to a dedicated device such as an externally connected digital audio tape device. However, as a technology for transferring image data to a general-purpose device such as a PC, for example, Kaihei 8
There is a technique described in JP-A-223341.

According to this technique, an image recording apparatus determines a transfer speed by exchanging with a general-purpose device that receives image data before transferring the image data.

[0014]

As described above, since the data writing speed of the data storage device differs depending on the type of the data storage device, the PC writing speed described with reference to FIG.
In the case where the PC 2 actively acquires the write data from the peripheral device 12 after the memory card 11 is ready for writing, as in the write operation by No. 2, there is no problem. When it is necessary to input the data transferred to the data storage device and write it to the data storage device, the following problems occur depending on the type of the data storage device.

That is, in a data transfer control device that inputs data continuously transferred from a peripheral device and writes the data into the data storage device, the data storage device is determined by the amount of data transferred per unit time from the peripheral device. In the case of using a data storage device in which the amount of data that can be written per unit time is small, an internal buffer may overflow and writing may not be performed in the middle of writing.

This problem is caused by the problem described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-183.
It is not related to the technology described in Japanese Patent No. 860. This is because, in this technique, the data to be transferred is image data obtained by converting a still image, and has already been stored in the first recording medium. Because it is not assumed.

Further, there is no relation to the technique described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-223341. Because, in this technology, the transfer destination device is a general-purpose device that can perform exchange for determining the transfer speed,
This is because a data storage device such as a memory card is not assumed.

An object of the present invention is to interpose between a peripheral device and a data storage device and to transfer data from the peripheral device (particularly, data continuously transferred from the peripheral device).
The present invention relates to a technology that enables data to be written to a data storage device at a constant speed without causing an internal buffer to overflow in a data transfer control device that inputs data to a data storage device.

Therefore, when the object of the present invention is achieved, for example, in a device such as a recording device (video camera) which needs to always write data to a data storage device at a constant speed, the data storage device is used. Even when a memory card is used as a device, there is no fear that writing of recorded data cannot be performed during recording depending on the writing speed of the memory card.

[0020]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transfer control device for inputting data transferred from a peripheral device and writing the data into a data storage device. Input means for inputting data transferred from the peripheral device, writing means for writing the data input by the input means to the data storage device, and measuring means for measuring a writing speed of the data storage device. Determining means for determining the data transfer rate of the peripheral device based on the writing speed measured by the measuring means; and setting means for setting the data transfer rate determined by the determining means to the peripheral device. Is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transfer control device for inputting data transferred from a peripheral device and writing the data into a data storage device. Input means for inputting data transferred from the device, writing means for writing the data input by the input means to the data storage device, measuring means for measuring the writing speed of the data storage device, and measuring means Determining means for determining a data transfer rate that can be set as the data transfer rate of the peripheral device from among a plurality of predetermined data transfer rates based on the measured write speed, and data determined by the determining means. Presenting means for presenting the transfer rate; accepting means for accepting designation of one of the data transfer rates presented by the presenting means; Means providing the data transfer control apparatus characterized by comprising a setting means for setting the said peripheral device data transfer rate accepted.

In any one of the first and second aspects, the measuring means may execute the write command for writing predetermined measurement data to the data storage device from the time when the write command is issued. The writing speed of the data storage device can be measured by measuring the time required until the time when the write end is notified from the data storage device.

In this case, the apparatus further comprises a write condition specifying means for storing the measurement condition of the measurement means, including one or more write addresses of the measurement data to the data storage device, The measuring means is
The measurement according to the measurement conditions stored in the writing condition specifying means can be performed.

Further, the apparatus further comprises an unused area detecting means for detecting an unused area of the data storage device, and the measuring means performs measurement using the unused area detected by the unused area detecting means. You can do so.

The first embodiment and the second embodiment
In any of the embodiments, the measuring means reads data stored at an arbitrary address from the data storage device, and writes a write command for writing the read data to the original address again to the data storage device. By measuring the time required from the time of issuance to the time when the end of writing is notified from the data storage device,
The writing speed of the data storage device may be measured.

In any of the first and second aspects described above, the measuring means reads data stored at an arbitrary address from the data storage device and saves the read data. Thereafter, it is required from the time when the write command for writing the predetermined measurement data to the address where the read data is stored is issued to the data storage device to the time when the write completion is notified from the data storage device. By measuring the time taken, the writing speed of the data storage device can be measured, and after the measurement of the writing speed, the saved data can be written to the original address.

In any of the first and second aspects described above, the measuring means reads data stored at an arbitrary address from the data storage device and converts the read data to unused data. In the case of, the end of writing is notified from the data storage device from the time when a write command for writing the predetermined measurement data to the address where the read unused data is stored is issued to the data storage device. By measuring the time required until the time when the data was written, the writing speed of the data storage device was measured, and if the read data was not unused data, after the read data was saved,
Measure the time required from the time when the write command for writing the measurement data to the address where the read data is stored is issued to the data storage device to the time when the data storage device notifies the end of the writing. By measuring the write speed of the data storage device,
After the measurement of the writing speed is completed, the saved data can be written to the original address.

Further, in any of the first and second aspects described above, the measuring means may perform the measurement when the power of the data transfer control device is turned on.

In any of the first and second aspects described above, the apparatus further comprises a detecting means for detecting the mounting of the data storage device. The measurement may be performed when the attachment of the device is detected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided any one of the first and second aspects described above.
A write mode for writing to the data storage device, and a read / write switching unit for switching to any one of a read mode for reading from the data storage device, the measurement unit includes: The measurement can be performed when the write / read switching unit is switching to the write mode.

Therefore, according to the present invention, data transferred from the peripheral device (particularly, data continuously transferred from the peripheral device) is input between the peripheral device and the data storage device. In a data transfer control device that writes data to a data storage device, it is possible to write data to the data storage device at a constant speed without causing an internal buffer to overflow.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a recording device capable of always writing data to the data storage device at a constant speed regardless of the writing speed of the data storage device.

That is, according to the present invention, the first
The data transfer control device according to any one of the first to third aspects, video input means for capturing a video signal, audio input means for capturing an audio signal, the video signal captured by the video input means, and the audio input A / D conversion means for digitally converting the audio signal captured by the means to generate video data and audio data, and compression-encoding the video data and audio data generated by the A / D conversion means to obtain a video code and an audio code. Encoding means for generating the data, a video code and an audio code generated by the encoding means, and a coupling means for generating coupled data; and a transfer means for transmitting the coupled data generated by the coupling means to the data transfer control device. And storage means for storing a data transfer rate set from the data transfer control device, wherein the encoding means, It is possible to provide a recording apparatus and performing compression encoding based on the data transfer rate stored in the serial storage means.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a writing time measuring device capable of measuring a writing time of a data storage device.

That is, according to the present invention, there is provided a writing time measuring device for measuring a writing time of a data storage device, wherein the data writing device writes a predetermined measurement data write command to the data storage device based on a predetermined time. To provide a writing time measuring device, comprising: a measuring means for measuring a time required until a time when a writing end is notified from a storage device; and a display means for displaying a measurement result of the measuring means. Can be.

[0036]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the data transfer control device of the first embodiment.

In the figure, 1 is a data transfer control device, 3 is a transfer speed arbitration unit, 4 is a buffer, 5 is an I / F instruction generation unit, 6
Denotes a main control unit, 7 denotes an input / output I / F unit, 8 denotes a data storage unit, 10 denotes a data storage device, and 12 denotes a peripheral device.

In FIG. 1, the same components as those of the PC 2 shown in FIG. 15 are given the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG.

Data transfer control device 1 of the first embodiment
Is interposed between the peripheral device 12 and the data storage device 10, and sequentially receives data transferred from the peripheral device 12 via the input / output I / F unit 7 and sequentially inputs the data to the buffer 4.
And the data stored in the buffer 4
This is a device for performing an operation of writing to the data storage device 10 via the input / output I / F unit 7 in parallel.

The write operation to the data storage device 10 will be specifically described. First, the data transfer control device 1
, The main control unit 6 acquires a write command for the data storage device 10 from the I / F command generation unit 5 and transfers the obtained write command to the data storage device 10 via the input / output I / F unit 7. .

When the data storage device 10 receives the write command from the data transfer control device 1, the data storage device 10 deactivates the RDY (READY) signal, which is a write command request signal, and determines the content of the command. Transfer to the transfer control device 1.

In the data transfer control device 1, upon receiving a write data transfer request from the data storage device 10, the main control unit 6 obtains data to be written to the data storage device 10 from the buffer 4 or the peripheral device 12, and obtains the data. The write data is transferred to the data storage device 10 via the input / output I / F unit 7.

Upon receiving the write data from the data transfer control device 1, the data storage device 10 writes the received write data to an address according to the contents of the instruction.
When the writing is completed, the data storage device 10 notifies the end of the writing by activating the RDY signal.

However, as described above, since data is continuously transferred from the peripheral device 12, the buffer 4 may overflow depending on the writing speed of the data storage device 10. Therefore,
The first embodiment is characterized in that the data transfer speed of the peripheral device 12 is controlled according to the write speed of the data storage device 10 in order to cope with this.

For this purpose, in the data transfer control device 1 of the first embodiment, the transfer speed arbitration unit 3
0 is measured, and data for controlling the data transfer rate of the peripheral device 12 is generated according to the measured writing speed. Hereinafter, the operation according to the features of the first embodiment will be described. explain.

In the first embodiment, the transfer speed arbitration unit 3 measures one write time of the data storage device 10 instead of measuring the write speed of the data storage device 10 itself. I have. Since the writing time is a value for specifying the writing speed, measuring the writing time is equivalent to measuring the writing speed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the transfer speed arbitration unit 3.

In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a time measuring unit, and 22 denotes a transfer speed setting unit.

In the data transfer control device 1, data of a predetermined value is stored in the data storage unit 8 as write time measurement data, and the main control unit 6
The writing time measurement data is obtained from the data storage unit 8, and the obtained writing time measurement data is written to the data storage device 10.

The operation of writing the write time measurement data to the data storage device 10 is the same as the above-described operation. However, in the first embodiment, the main control unit 6 transfers the write command to the data storage device 10. At this time, a start signal is supplied to the time measuring unit 21.
When the data storage device 10 completes the writing,
As described above, the RDY signal is activated. At this time, the RDY signal is supplied to the time measuring unit 21 as a stop signal.

Therefore, in the transfer speed arbitration unit 3, the time measurement unit 21 measures the time difference between the start signal and the stop signal, and sets the time difference data (corresponding to the write time) as the measurement result to the transfer speed data setting. Output to the unit 22. Then, when receiving the time difference data from the time measuring unit 21, the transfer speed data setting unit 22 generates transfer speed designation data for designating the data transfer speed of the peripheral device 12 based on the received time difference data, and The speed designation data is output to the main control unit 6.

When receiving the transfer speed designation data output from the transfer speed setting unit 22, the main control unit 6 sets the received transfer speed designation data to the peripheral device 12 via the input / output I / F unit 7. .

As a result, the peripheral device 12 can perform data transfer to the data transfer control device 1 at the data transfer speed specified by the transfer speed designation data set by the data transfer control device 1. In the transfer control device 1, data can be written to the data storage device 10 at a constant speed without causing the buffer 4 to overflow.

The peripheral device 12 of the transfer speed designation data
Must be set before writing of data input from the peripheral device 12 to the data storage device 10 is started. In the first embodiment, the data transfer control device 1
This is done when the power is turned on.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the data transfer control device 1 when the transfer speed designation data is set in the peripheral device 12 when the power of the data transfer control device 1 is turned on.

As shown in FIG. 3, the data transfer control device 1
After the power is turned on, the device initializes the internal / external registers and the like (step 301), and measures the write time of the data storage device 10 (step 30).
2) The transfer speed designation data generated based on the measured writing time is set in the peripheral device 12 via the input / output I / F unit 7 (step 303).

In the above description of the first embodiment, the writing time of the time measurement data stored in the data storage unit 8 is measured. First, in order to prevent the data for time measurement from being overwritten on the existing data, first, arbitrary data is read from the data storage device 10, and
Thereafter, the read data may be written again to the original address instead of the time measurement data, and the writing time at this time may be measured.

It should be noted here that, depending on the data storage device 10, if the data already written at the address to which the write data is to be written matches the write data, the data is actually written. In other words, there is a data storage device 10 that considers that the writing is completed and activates the RDY signal.

In the case where the data storage device 10 is used, when the read data is rewritten to the original address instead of the time measurement data, the RDY signal is output earlier than when the time measurement data is written. Since it becomes active, it is not possible to accurately measure the write time,
At this time, if the transfer speed designation data generated based on the measured writing time is set in the peripheral device 12, there is a problem that the buffer 4 overflows.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem,
First, arbitrary data is read from the data storage device 10 and saved, and the write time is measured by writing time measurement data to the address of the read data.
After that, the saved read data may be written back to the original address.

That is, the schematic configuration diagram of the data transfer control device 1 is as shown in FIG. 4, and in the operation of the data transfer control device 1 shown in the flowchart of FIG.
02 may be as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the data transfer control device 1 is different from the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that a data saving section 2 for saving read data is provided.
3 is provided.

The other components are the same as those of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the other components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, in step 302 of FIG. 3, the data transfer control device 1 first reads data from the write address of the time measurement data (step 501), and the read data is unused. It is determined whether the data is data (step 502). If the data is not unused data, that is, if data has already been written, the read data is saved in the data saving unit 23 (step 503), and as described above,
The writing time of the data storage device 10 is measured (step 504). Then, after measuring the write time, if there is read data saved in the data saving unit 23 (step 505), the read data is written again to the original address (step 50).
6).

When the read data is unused data, the data transfer control device 1 measures the write time without saving the data.

Further, there is a case where data is not written in all the areas of the data storage device 10 (when there is an unused area).
First, an unused area may be detected, and time measurement data may be written in the detected unused area.

That is, the schematic configuration diagram of the data transfer control device 1 may be as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the present data transfer control device 1 is different from the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that an unused area detecting section 24 for detecting an unused area of the data storage device 10. Is provided.

The other components are the same as those of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the other components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the data storage device 10
Has a root directory and a FAT as shown in FIG. 7 in detail, and the unused area detection unit 24 determines the starting cluster number based on the root directory,
Since the used cluster can be known from the FAT, the unused area of the data storage device 10 can be detected.

In this case, the time measurement data written in the unused area may be deleted after the measurement of the writing time.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the data transfer control device 1 of the second embodiment is different from the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that a write / read switching unit 25 is provided. Is a point.

The other components are the same as those of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the other components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The write / read switching unit 25 switches between the write mode for writing to the data storage device 10 and the read mode for reading from the data storage device 10 and the switched mode. Is notified to the main control unit 6.

Therefore, the main control section 6 acquires the write time measurement data from the data storage section 8 only when the write / read switching section 25 notifies that the mode is the write mode, and acquires the acquired write time. The measurement data is written to the data storage device 10.

The operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the second embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the operation of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. That is, a process of judging from the contents of notification from the write / read switching unit 25 is added.

That is, when the power is turned on, the data transfer control device 1 initializes the device such as setting of internal / external registers (step 301). At this time, it is determined whether or not the mode is the write mode. Judgment is made (step 901), and only in the write mode, the write time of the data storage device 10 is measured (step 302), and the transfer speed designation data generated based on the measured write time is input / output I / F The peripheral device 12 is set via the unit 7 (step 303).

According to the data transfer control device 1 of the second embodiment, when the data transfer control device 1 is used for the purpose of reading, it is possible to reduce the time from when the power is turned on until the device becomes usable.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the data transfer control device 1 according to the third embodiment differs from the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that a data storage device detection unit 26 is provided. It is.

The other components are the same as those of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the other components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the data storage device 10 is newly mounted, the data storage device detection unit 26 detects this, and notifies the main control unit 6 of the detection result.

Therefore, the main control unit 6 notifies the data storage device detection unit 2 that the data storage device 10 is newly mounted.
Only when notified from 6, the writing time measurement data is obtained from the data storage unit 8, and the obtained writing time measurement data is written to the data storage device 10.

The operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the third embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the third embodiment is different from the operation of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. The data storage device detection unit 26
Is added.

That is, when the data transfer control device 1 detects that the data storage device 10 has been newly mounted (step 1101), the data transfer control device 1 measures the write time of the data storage device 10 (step 302) and performs the measurement. The transfer speed designation data generated based on the write time is transferred to the input / output I /
Set to the peripheral device 12 via the F unit 7 (step 30)
3).

According to the data transfer control device 1 of the third embodiment, even when the data storage device 10 is replaced with the power turned on without turning on the power again, the peripheral device 12 of the transfer speed designation data is replaced. Setting can be realized.

The third embodiment can achieve both effects by combining with the above-described second embodiment.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to the fourth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 12, the data transfer control device 1 of the fourth embodiment differs from the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that a menu screen display section 27 and an input key section 28 are provided. It is the point which did so.

The other components are the same as those of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the other components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The menu screen display unit 27 displays a plurality of predetermined data transfer speeds to the user in a menu format, and the input key unit 28 displays a desired data transfer speed among the data transfer speeds displayed in the menu format. Accepts user's specification of speed.

However, in the fourth embodiment, the writing time of the data storage device 10 is measured prior to the display on the menu screen display section 27, so that the data transfer speed among a plurality of types of predetermined data transfer speeds is determined. The data transfer rate that can be supported by the storage device 10 is obtained, and the obtained data transfer rate is presented to the user.

More specifically, when the main control unit 6 acquires the write time of the data storage device 10 from the transfer speed adjustment unit 3, the main control unit 6 supports the data storage device 10 among a plurality of predetermined data transfer speeds. A possible data transfer rate is determined, and the determined result is notified to the menu screen display unit 27.

The menu screen display unit 27 performs, for example, a display as shown in FIG. 13 according to the notified result.

In the example shown in FIG. 13, "high quality", "normal", "high quality",
The menu items "2x speed", "3x speed", and "still image" are displayed, and information indicating that writing other than "high quality" can be supported is displayed. In the example of FIG. 13, the input key unit 28 is realized as a touch panel stacked on the screen of the menu screen display unit 27, and shows a state in which the user has designated “normal”.

When the data transfer rate specified by the user is received, input key section 28 changes the content to main control section 6.
The main control unit 6 transmits the transfer speed designation data according to the contents notified from the input key unit 28 to the input / output I / O
The setting is made in the peripheral device 12 via the F unit 7.

It is preferable that a user's designation is not accepted for a data transfer rate that cannot be supported by the data storage device 10 (“high quality” in the example of FIG. 13).

The operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the fourth embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the fourth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 14, the operation of the data transfer control device 1 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the operation of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. Processing displayed by the screen display unit 27;
This is the addition of a process in which the input key unit 28 receives the data transfer rate specified by the user.

That is, when the power is turned on, the data transfer control device 1 initializes devices such as internal / external register setting (step 301), and measures the write time of the data storage device 10. (Step 30
2) At this time, the data transfer rates that can be supported by the data storage device 10 are displayed in a menu format (step 1401).

Then, when there is a key input from the user (step 1402), the content of the key input is received (step 1403), and the transfer speed designation data according to the received content is transmitted via the input / output I / F unit 7. To the peripheral device 12 (step 303).

According to the data transfer control device 1 of the fourth embodiment, the user can specify a desired data transfer speed.

The fourth embodiment can obtain the effects of both the second and third embodiments by being combined with any of the above-described second and third embodiments.

Further, the fourth embodiment is combined with the second and third embodiments described above,
It is possible to obtain the effects of the three.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to the fifth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 15, the data transfer control device 1 of the fifth embodiment differs from the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that a write condition designating section 29 is provided. is there.

The other components are the same as those of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the other components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The write condition specifying section 29 stores conditions for measuring the write time, such as the number of times of writing of the write time measurement data to the data storage device 10 and the write address.

Therefore, when writing the write time measurement data, the main control section 6 first obtains the measurement conditions from the write condition designation section 29, and then writes the write time measurement data in accordance with the obtained measurement conditions. To

The storage medium of the data storage device 10 corresponds to FIG.
In the case where the semiconductor device is composed of a plurality of semiconductor elements (chips) as shown in 1501, the writing time of these chips may vary widely. According to the fifth embodiment, for example, a measurement condition determined to measure the write time for some predetermined chips or a measurement condition determined to measure the write time for all chips is written. By storing the data in the condition specifying unit 27, it is possible to realize measurements applied to various types of data storage devices 10.

Note that the fifth embodiment can obtain the effects of both by combining with any one of the above-described second, third, and fourth embodiments. .

Further, the fifth embodiment can obtain the effects of the three by combining any two of the above-described second, third, and fourth embodiments. is there.

The fifth embodiment can achieve the effects of the four embodiments by combining the second embodiment, the third embodiment, and the fourth embodiment described above.

(Sixth Embodiment) The data transfer control devices 1 of all the above-described embodiments can be actually realized as a part of a recording device or a recording / reproducing device. A recording device and a recording / reproducing device provided with the transfer control device 1 will be described as a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording apparatus according to the sixth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 16, in the recording device according to the sixth embodiment, the peripheral device 12 includes a video input device (CCD camera) 30, an audio input device (microphone),
A / D conversion unit 32, encoding unit 33, input / output I /
An F portion 34 is provided.

The A / D conversion section 32 includes a video A / D conversion section 41 and an audio A / D conversion section 42. The encoding section 33 includes a video encoding section 43, an audio encoding section 44, and an AV connection. And a data transfer speed setting unit 46.

As shown in FIG. 16, the recording apparatus according to the sixth embodiment has a configuration in which a memory card is used as the data storage device 10.

In the recording device according to the sixth embodiment, the peripheral device 12 continuously transfers the recorded data to the data transfer control device 1, and the data transfer control device 1 continuously transfers the recorded data from the peripheral device 12. Incoming recording data to the memory card 10
In a video recording operation.

Here, the recording operation will be described. First, a video signal captured by the CCD camera 30 and
The audio signal captured by the microphone 31 is converted into an A / D converter 32
Are digitally converted by a video A / D conversion unit 41 and an audio A / D conversion unit 42 into video data and audio data.

These video data and audio data are
In the encoding unit 33, after being compression-encoded by the video encoding unit 43 and the audio encoding unit 44, respectively, the data is combined by the AV combining unit 45, and then as recorded data via the input / output I / F unit 34. The data is transferred to the data transfer control device 1.

The data transfer control device 1 transfers the recording data continuously transferred from the peripheral device 12 to the memory card 1.
An operation of writing to 0 is performed, whereby the recorded data is stored in the memory card 10.

The data transfer rate setting section 46 is set with transfer rate designating data, and includes a video encoding section 43 and an audio encoding section 44.
Performs compression encoding based on the data transfer rate specified by the transfer rate specification data set in the data transfer rate setting unit 46.

In the sixth embodiment, prior to the above-described recording operation, the data transfer control device 1
The writing time of the memory card 10 is measured, and the transfer speed designation data generated based on the measurement result is transferred to the transfer speed setting unit 36.
And the recording operation is started after the setting of the transfer speed designation data is completed.

Here, until the recording operation can be started, that is, until the transfer speed designation data has been set in the transfer speed setting section 36, the user is informed of that fact. For example, "Checking memory"
It is preferable to display a message such as “Recording is being prepared” on a display unit (not shown).

In the sixth embodiment, the data transfer control device 1 may be any one of the first to fifth embodiments described above.

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, in the data transfer control device 1, the recording data continuously transferred from the peripheral device 12 can be sent to the data transfer control device 1 without overflowing the buffer 4. It is possible to write to the memory card 10 at the speed described above. Therefore, it is possible to realize a recording device that performs a recording operation at a data transfer speed according to the writing time of the memory card 10.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording device provided with the data transfer control device 1. FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording / playback device provided with the data transfer control device 1.
It becomes as shown in.

That is, as shown in FIG. 17, in the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment, the peripheral device 12
Includes, in addition to the components shown in FIG. 16, a video output device (display unit) 35, an audio output device (speaker) 36,
The configuration includes a D / A converter 37 and a decoder 38.

The D / A conversion section 37 includes a video D / A conversion section 51 and an audio D / A conversion section 52. The decoding section 38 includes a video decoding section 53, an audio decoding section 54, and an AV separation section. A portion 55.

In the recording / playback apparatus according to the sixth embodiment, in addition to the above-described recording operation, the data transfer control device 1 continuously transfers the recorded data read from the memory card 10 to the peripheral device 12. The peripheral device 12 performs a playback operation of outputting recorded data continuously transferred from the data transfer control device 1. The playback operation is the same as the conventional playback operation. Since the setting is not related to the setting of the transfer speed designation data performed by the control device 1, the detailed description thereof is omitted.

The AV coupling unit 45 shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 and the AV separation unit 55 shown in FIG.
In the data transfer control device 1, the main control unit 6 may perform those operations on behalf of the main control unit 6.

(Seventh Embodiment) By applying the data transfer control device 1 of the first embodiment, a write time measuring device for measuring the write time of the data storage device 10 can be realized. Hereinafter, a writing time measuring device will be described as a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of a writing time measuring device according to the seventh embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 60 denotes a writing time measuring device, 61
Denotes a data display unit, 21 denotes a time measurement unit, 5 denotes an I / F instruction generation unit, 6 denotes a main control unit, 7 denotes an input / output I / F unit, and 8 denotes a data storage unit.

In FIG. 18, the same components as those of the data transfer control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The same reference numerals as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are given.

The writing time measuring device 6 of the seventh embodiment
Reference numeral 0 denotes a device that is used, for example, when performing a test on the data storage device 10 and that measures the writing time of the data storage device 10 and displays the measurement result.

For this purpose, in the writing time measuring device 60 of the seventh embodiment, the time measuring unit 21 measures the writing time of the data storage device 10 and the data display unit 61 displays the measurement result. The operation of the write time measuring device 60 according to the seventh embodiment will be described below.

In the write time measuring device 60, the main control unit 6 acquires a write instruction for the data storage device 10 from the I / F instruction generation unit 5, and receives the acquired write instruction via the input / output I / F unit 7. Data storage device 10
Transfer to At this time, the main control unit 6 supplies a start signal to the time measuring unit 21.

Upon receiving the write command from the write time measuring device 60, the data storage device 10 inactivates the RDY signal, which is a write command request signal, determines the content of the command, and then transmits the write data transfer request to the write time measuring device. Transfer to 60.

In the write time measuring device 60, data of a predetermined value is stored in the data storage section 8 as write time measuring data.
Receives a write data transfer request from the data storage device 10, acquires write time measurement data from the data storage unit 8, and converts the acquired write time measurement data into
The data is transferred to the data storage device 10 via the input / output I / F unit 7.

When the data storage device 10 receives the write time measurement data from the write time measurement device 60,
The received write time measurement data is written to an address according to the contents of the instruction. Then, the data storage device 10
Notifies the end of writing by activating the RDY signal when writing is completed. At this time, the data storage device 10 supplies the activated RDY signal to the time measuring unit 21 as a stop signal.

Then, the time measuring section 21 measures the time difference between the start signal and the stop signal, and outputs the time difference data (corresponding to the writing time) as the measurement result to the data display section 61. Then, the data display unit 61
When the time difference data is received from the time measuring unit 21, the received time difference data is displayed.

It is to be noted that the writing time measuring device 60 of the seventh embodiment is preferably further provided with a data storage device detecting section 24, similarly to the data transfer control device 1 of the third embodiment described above. In this way, each time the data storage device 10 is mounted one after another, the writing time of the newly mounted data storage device 10 can be measured.

The write time measuring device 60 according to the seventh embodiment may further include a write condition specifying unit 27, similarly to the data transfer control device 1 according to the fifth embodiment. By doing so, it is possible to realize measurements applied to various types of data storage devices 10.

[0158]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a data transfer control device which is interposed between a peripheral device and a data storage device and receives data transferred from the peripheral device (in particular, data continuously transferred from the peripheral device) and writes the data into the data storage device. This has the effect that data can be written to the data storage device at a constant speed without causing the internal buffer to overflow.

Therefore, for example, in a device such as a video camera which needs to always write data to the data storage device at a constant speed, the data transfer control device of the present invention is provided so that the data storage device can be used. With this writing speed, there is no fear that the recording data cannot be written during the recording.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram of a transfer speed arbitration unit in the data transfer control device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the data transfer control device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is another schematic configuration diagram of the data transfer control device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another operation of the data transfer control device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a further schematic configuration diagram of the data transfer control device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a root directory and a FAT of the data storage device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data transfer control device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data transfer control device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a menu screen display unit in the data transfer control device according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data transfer control device according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data transfer control device according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording / playback device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of a writing time measuring device according to a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram of a personal computer and a memory card according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Data transfer control device, 2 ... PC (personal computer), 3 ... Transfer speed arbitration unit, 4 ... Buffer, 5 ... I
/ F instruction generation unit, 6: main control unit, 7: input / output I / F
Unit, 8 ... data storage unit, 10 ... data storage unit, 11 ...
Memory card, 12 peripheral device, 21 time measuring unit, 2
2: transfer speed setting unit, 23: data saving unit, 24: unused area detecting unit, 25: write / read switching unit, 26: data storage device detecting unit, 27: menu screen display unit, 28: input key unit 29, writing condition designating unit, 30 video input device (CCD camera), 31 audio input device (microphone), 32 A / D conversion unit, 33 encoding unit, 34
... I / F I / F section, 35 ... Video output device (display section), 3
6 audio output device (speaker), 37 D / A converter,
38: decoding unit, 41: video A / D conversion unit, 42:
Audio A / D conversion unit, 43 ... video encoding unit,
44: audio encoding unit, 45: AV coupling unit, 4
6: Data transfer speed setting unit, 51: Video D / A conversion unit, 52: Audio D / A conversion unit, 53: Video decoding unit, 54: Audio decoding unit, 55: AV separation unit, 60: Writing time measuring device , 61 ... data display unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuhisa Nishimoto 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Hitachi Image Information System Co., Ltd.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A data transfer control device for inputting data transferred from a peripheral device and writing the data into a data storage device, wherein the input means inputs data transferred from the peripheral device, and the input means includes: Writing means for writing input data to the data storage device; measuring means for measuring the writing speed of the data storage device; and determining a data transfer speed of the peripheral device based on the writing speed measured by the measuring means. A data transfer control device comprising: a determination unit that sets the data transfer rate determined by the determination unit in the peripheral device. 2. A data transfer control device for inputting data transferred from a peripheral device and writing the data into a data storage device, wherein the input means inputs data transferred from the peripheral device, and the input means includes: Writing means for writing input data to the data storage device; measuring means for measuring the writing speed of the data storage device; and a plurality of predetermined data transfer rates based on the writing speed measured by the measuring means. Determining means for determining a data transfer rate that can be set as the data transfer rate of the peripheral device, presentation means for presenting the data transfer rate determined by the determination means, and data transfer rate presented by the presentation means Receiving means for receiving any of the following, and setting the data transfer rate received by the receiving means in the peripheral device A data transfer control device comprising: setting means. 3. The data transfer control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the measuring means is configured to execute the data transfer from a time at which a write command for writing predetermined measurement data is issued to the data storage device. A data transfer control device for measuring a writing speed of the data storage device by measuring a time required until a time when a write end is notified from the storage device. 4. The data transfer control device according to claim 3, wherein: the write condition for storing the measurement condition of the measurement means, including one or more write addresses of the measurement data to the data storage device. A data transfer control device, further comprising a designation unit, wherein the measurement unit performs measurement in accordance with the measurement condition stored in the writing condition designation unit. 5. The data transfer control device according to claim 3, further comprising: an unused area detecting means for detecting an unused area of said data storage device, wherein said measuring means comprises: an unused area detecting means. A data transfer control device for performing measurement using a detected unused area. 6. The data transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein said measuring means reads data stored at an arbitrary address from said data storage device and returns the read data to an original address again. The writing speed of the data storage device is measured by measuring the time required from the time when a write command for writing to the data storage device is issued to the data storage device to the time when the data storage device notifies the end of writing. A data transfer control device, characterized in that: 7. The data transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein said measuring means reads data stored at an arbitrary address from said data storage device, and saves the read data. Required from the time at which a write command for writing predetermined measurement data to the address where the read data was stored was issued to the data storage device to the time at which the data storage device was notified of the end of writing. A data transfer control device characterized by measuring a writing speed of the data storage device by measuring time, and writing the saved data to an original address after the measurement of the writing speed is completed. 8. The data transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein said measuring means reads data stored at an arbitrary address from said data storage device, and said read data is unused data. In some cases, from the time when a write command for writing the predetermined measurement data to the address where the read unused data is stored is issued to the data storage device, the data storage device notifies the end of writing. By measuring the time required until the time of reading, the write speed of the data storage device is measured, and if the read data is not unused data, the read data is saved, and then the read data is read. From the time when a write command for writing the measurement data to the address where is stored is issued to the data storage device, By measuring the time required until the time when the end of writing is notified from the data storage device, the writing speed of the data storage device is measured. After the measurement of the writing speed, the saved data is returned to the original. A data transfer control device for writing to an address. 9. The data transfer control device according to claim 1, wherein said measuring means comprises: when a power supply of said data transfer control device is turned on. A data transfer control device for performing measurement. 10. The data transfer control device according to claim 1, further comprising a detecting means for detecting the mounting of said data storage device, wherein said measuring means is provided. Wherein the measurement is performed when the detection means detects the mounting of the data storage device. 11. The method of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
11. The data transfer control device according to 8, 9, or 10, further comprising a write mode for writing to the data storage device and a read mode for reading from the data storage device. A data transfer control device, further comprising read / read switching means, wherein the measurement means performs measurement when the write / read switching means is switching to a write mode. 12. The method of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8. The data transfer control device according to 8, 9, 10, or 11, wherein the video input means captures a video signal, the audio input means captures an audio signal, the video signal captured by the video input means, and the audio input means A / D conversion means for digitally converting the captured audio signal to generate video data and audio data, and compression-encoding the video data and audio data generated by the A / D conversion means to generate video codes and audio codes Encoding means for combining the video code and the audio code generated by the encoding means to generate combined data; transfer means for transferring the combined data generated by the combining means to the data transfer control device; Storage means for storing a data transfer rate set from the data transfer control device, wherein the encoding means , Recording apparatus and performing compression encoding based on the data transfer rate stored in said storage means. 13. A write time measuring device for measuring a write time of a data storage device, wherein a write end of the data storage device is started from a time when a predetermined measurement data write command is issued to the data storage device. A writing time measuring device comprising: a measuring means for measuring a time required until the notified time; and a display means for displaying a measurement result of the measuring means.