JPH11232789A - Reproducer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the interruption of a voice due to a character information processing by stipulating readout intervals of main voice data from a buffer memory and processing character information in these readout intervals to enable reading voice data at normal intervals. SOLUTION: A system controller CPU 11 outputs reproduction instructions to a memory controller 12 at the interval of about 5 msec and audio data are read out from a buffer memory 13 to be transferred to an encoding/decoding part 14 and a voice is reproduced. In the case of displaying name data on a display part 24 while reading out them, when the number of characters is larger than the maximum value of the number of characters which are readable in the previously set time equal to or shorter than 5 msec and the reading of all characters can not be completed in this interval, the reading of the name data is stopped once and the reading of concecutive characters is preformed in a next interval. Thus, a reproduced voice is prevented from becoming discontinuous and from being interrupted by executing reproduction instructions surely while keeping the readout intervals of the audio data correctly and while limiting the number of characters to be read out in one time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording medium capable of recording character information corresponding to, for example, audio data.
The present invention relates to a reproducing apparatus capable of reading out and outputting the character information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a recording device / reproducing device capable of recording / reproducing music or the like, a magneto-optical disk for recording an audio signal as a digital signal is known as a mini disk and has been widely used. The mini-disc recording / reproducing system using the magneto-optical disc not only allows the user to record and reproduce the sound of a song or the like, but also records the title (disc name) of the disc and each track of the recorded song. (Here, “track” refers to a data group that constitutes one song or the like.) For example, the song name (track name) can be recorded as character information.
For example, at the time of reproduction, a display section provided in the reproduction apparatus can display a disc title, a song name, an artist name, and the like.

For example, the mini disc recording / reproducing apparatus is not limited to a stationary type or a portable type, and is generally provided with a small display section such as a liquid crystal panel. Time information, and the character information described above are displayed. The character information recorded as the track name corresponding to each track is displayed during the reproduction of the track, so that the user can check the title of the song while listening to music or the like. In the mini-disc system, a read-only disc (optical disc) is also prepared, but in the case of a read-only disc, the disc manufacturer records the track name or the like in advance so that the song name or the like is displayed at the time of reproduction. be able to.

[0004]

In the case of a mini-disc system, character information such as the track name is recorded on a disc together with various other management information in a so-called TOC data area. At the time of loading a disc, the playback device first reads out the TOC data and stores it in an internal buffer memory so that it can be referred to at the time of recording, playback, editing operation and the like. As a matter of course, the display processing of the track name and the like to be performed as necessary also retrieves the character string as the corresponding track name from the buffer memory, reads it out, and provides it for display.

This buffer memory is also used as a reproduction data buffer for improving the so-called anti-vibration function for audio data. That is, audio data is intermittently read from the disk at a high rate and stored in the buffer memory, and is continuously read from the buffer memory at a low rate (a rate corresponding to a normal audio output) and reproduced and output. Thus, even if reading from the disk is temporarily disabled due to disturbance or the like, the reproduced sound can be continued without interruption. Due to such an operation method, the output from the buffer memory defines the temporal continuity as the audio data output.In other words, at the time of reproduction, a predetermined amount of audio data is read from the buffer memory at regular time intervals. It must be made.

Here, considering that the track name is displayed and output at the same time as the reproduction of the audio data, it is necessary to read out the audio data from the buffer memory and search and read out a character string as the track name. . This is not a problem if the character string to be displayed is a small number of characters, but if a track name with a large number of characters has been registered or if there is a large amount of search processing, that track name Search / read processing takes time, and the reading of audio data may be delayed. In other words, audio data cannot be read out at regular intervals, and an intermittent sound as reproduced sound may be generated.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an adverse effect on the reproduction and output of main data having temporal continuity due to processing for searching and reading character information. The purpose is to avoid getting out.

For this purpose, during reproduction, the control means of the reproducing apparatus repeatedly instructs the main means for reading main data to the storage means as a buffer memory at intervals of a predetermined time or less, and outputs a display to the storage means. The search and read processing of the character information to be performed is performed within the time as the gap period of the main data read instruction. If a series of processing for searching and reading character information to be displayed and output cannot be completed within a certain time interval, the processing is interrupted and a main data readout instruction is issued. Then, resume the suspended processing. That is, the interval at which the main data read instruction is executed is defined to the last, and processing relating to character information such as a track name is performed in the gap.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. An example of this embodiment is a recording / reproducing apparatus that uses a magneto-optical disk (mini disk) as a recording medium and has a character display function. The description will be made in the following order. 1. 1. Configuration of recording / reproducing device U-TOC3. 3. Area configuration of buffer memory Character reading process

[0010] 1. Configuration of Recording / Reproducing Apparatus The configuration of the mini-disc recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. A magneto-optical disk (mini disk) 90 on which audio data is recorded is driven to rotate by the spindle motor 2. Then, a laser beam is irradiated on the magneto-optical disk 90 by the optical head 3 during recording / reproduction.

The optical head 3 performs a high-level laser output for heating a recording track to the Curie temperature during recording, and a relatively low-level laser for detecting data from reflected light by a magnetic Kerr effect during reproduction. Perform output. Therefore, the optical head 3 is equipped with a laser diode as a laser output unit, an optical system including a polarizing beam splitter and an objective lens, and a detector for detecting reflected light. The objective lens 3a is held by the biaxial mechanism 4 so as to be displaceable in the radial direction of the disk and in the direction of coming into contact with and separating from the disk.

The optical head 3 with the disk 90 interposed therebetween
The magnetic head 6a is arranged at a position facing the above. The magnetic head 6a performs an operation of applying a magnetic field modulated by the supplied data to the magneto-optical disk 90. The entire optical head 3 and the magnetic head 6a can be moved in the disk radial direction by the thread mechanism 5.

The information detected from the disk 90 by the optical head 3 by the reproducing operation is supplied to the RF amplifier 7. The RF amplifier 7 performs an arithmetic operation on the supplied information to reproduce the RF signal, the tracking error signal TE, the focus error signal FE, and groove information (absolute position information recorded as a pre-groove (wobbling groove) on the magneto-optical disk 90). GFM and the like are extracted. The extracted reproduced RF signal is supplied to the encoder / decoder section 8. Further, the tracking error signal TE and the focus error signal FE are supplied to the servo circuit 9, and the groove information GFM is supplied to the address decoder 10.

The servo circuit 9 supplies the tracking error signal TE and the focus error signal FE, and the system controller 1 constituted by a microcomputer.
Various servo drive signals are generated based on a track jump command, an access command, rotation speed detection information of the spindle motor 2 and the like from the controller 1 to control the two-axis mechanism 4 and the thread mechanism 5 to perform focus and tracking control. 2 is controlled to a constant linear velocity (CLV).

The address decoder 10 decodes the supplied groove information GFM to extract address information.
This address information is supplied to the system controller 11 and used for various control operations. The reproduced RF signal is subjected to decoding processing such as EFM demodulation and CIRC in the encoder / decoder section 8. At this time, addresses, subcode data, and the like are also extracted and supplied to the system controller 11.

EFM demodulation by the encoder / decoder section 8;
The decoded audio data (sector data) such as CIRC is temporarily written into the buffer memory 13 by the memory controller 12. The reading of data from the disk 90 by the optical head 3 and the transfer of reproduced data in the system from the optical head 3 to the buffer memory 13 are at 1.41 Mbit / sec, and are usually performed intermittently.

The data written in the buffer memory 13 is read out at a timing at which the transfer of the reproduced data becomes 0.3 Mbit / sec, and is supplied to the encoder / decoder unit 14. Then, subjected to reproduction signal processing of the decoding processing and the like for the audio compression processing, 44.1KH _Z sampling, 1
This is a 6-bit quantized digital audio signal. This digital audio signal is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 15, the output processing unit 16 performs level adjustment, impedance adjustment, and the like, and is output from the line output terminal 17 as an analog audio signal Aout to an external device. Is supplied to the headphones connected to the terminal 27 as a headphone output HPout.

The digital audio signal decoded by the encoder / decoder section 14 is supplied to a digital interface section 22 so that the digital audio signal can be output from the digital output terminal 21 to an external device as a digital audio signal Dout. . For example, it is output to an external device in the form of transmission by an optical cable.

When a recording operation is performed on the magneto-optical disk 90, the recording signal (analog audio signal Ain) supplied to the line input terminal 18 is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 19. Thereafter, the data is supplied to the encoder / decoder unit 14 and subjected to audio compression encoding processing. Or from a digital input terminal 20
Is supplied with the digital audio signal Din,
The digital interface unit 22 extracts control codes and the like, and the audio data is supplied to the encoder / decoder unit 14 and subjected to audio compression encoding processing. Although not shown, it is naturally possible to provide a microphone input terminal and use the microphone input as a recording signal.

The recording data compressed by the encoder / decoder section 14 is once written and accumulated in the buffer memory 13 by the memory controller 12, and then read out for each predetermined amount of data unit.
The data is sent to the decoder unit 8. After being subjected to encoding processing such as CIRC encoding and EFM modulation in the encoder / decoder section 8, it is supplied to the magnetic head drive circuit 6.

The magnetic head drive circuit 6 supplies a magnetic head drive signal to the magnetic head 6a in accordance with the encoded recording data. That is, the magnetic head 6a applies an N or S magnetic field to the magneto-optical disk 90. At this time, the system controller 11 supplies a control signal to the optical head so as to output a laser beam at a recording level.

The operation section 23 is provided with various operation keys for the user to instruct recording / reproduction / editing operations and the like. Specifically, play key, record key, stop key,
A record key, an AMS / search key, a pause key, an edit mode key, an edit operation key, and the like are provided, and an operator for inputting a disc title and a track name and other information are provided. Editing operations include track name input, disc name input, track division, track concatenation, track movement (change of track number as playback order), track erasure, and the like.
Operators necessary for instructing these editing operations are provided. Operation information from these operation keys and dials is supplied to the system controller 11, and the system controller 11 executes operation control according to the operation information.

The display unit 24 is provided, for example, on a device housing.
1 is controlled. That is, the system controller 11
Transmits data to be displayed when the display operation is performed to the display driver in the display unit 24. The display driver drives a display such as a liquid crystal panel based on the supplied data, and executes display of required numbers, characters, symbols, and the like.

The system controller 11 is a microcomputer having a CPU, a program ROM, a work RAM, an interface, and the like, and controls the various operations described above.

When performing a recording / reproducing operation on the disk 90, management information recorded on the disk 90, that is, P-TOC (pre-mastered TOC),
It is necessary to read U-TOC (user TOC).
The system controller 11 determines the address of the area to be recorded on the disk 90 and the address of the area to be reproduced on the disk 90 according to the management information. This management information is held in the buffer memory 13. Then, when the disk 90 is loaded, the system controller 11 reads out the management information by executing a reproduction operation on the innermost peripheral side of the disk on which the management information is recorded, and stores the information in the buffer memory 13. Thereafter, it can be referred to at the time of recording / reproducing / editing operation on the disc 90.

The U-TOC is rewritten in accordance with data recording and various editing processes, but the system controller 11 performs the U-TOC every time a recording / editing operation is performed.
C update processing is performed by the U-TO stored in the buffer memory 13.
This is performed on the C information, and the U-TOC area of the disc 90 is also rewritten at a predetermined timing in accordance with the rewriting operation.

2. U-TOC [U-TOC sector 0] As described above, disk 9
In order to perform the recording / reproducing operation of the track with respect to 0, the system controller 11 transmits P-TOC, U-TO
C is read out and referred to when necessary. Here, a track (music or the like) on the disc 90
As management information for managing the recording / playback operation of
The U-TOC sector will be described. In addition, U-TO
As the C sector, sectors 0 to 32 can be provided. In sector 0, the address of each track is managed in sector 0, and sector 1, sector 4
Is an area for recording character information, and sector 2 is an area for recording the recording date and time.

The P-TOC is formed in the innermost pit area of the disk 90 and is read-only information. The P-TOC manages the position of a recordable area (recordable user area), a lead-out area, a U-TOC area, and the like on the disc. On a read-only optical disk in which all data is recorded in the form of pits, the P-TOC uses
It is also possible to manage OM-recorded music, and no U-TOC is formed. PT
Although a detailed description of the OC is omitted, a U-TOC sector 1 (described later) for recording a track name or the like is used.
An area similar to the sector 4 is also provided in the P-TOC.

FIG. 2 shows the format of U-TOC sector 0. The U-TOC sector 0 is an area for recording information necessary for the recording / reproducing operation of the disc 90. The U-TOC sector 0 is mainly for a program such as a tune recorded by the user or a free area in which a new program can be recorded. Is a data area in which the management information is recorded. For example, when recording a certain music on the disk 90, the system controller 11
A free area on the disc is searched from OC sector 0, and audio data is recorded there. At the time of reproduction, the area in which the music to be reproduced is recorded is determined from U-TOC sector 0, and the reproduction operation is performed by accessing the area.

In the data area of U-TOC sector 0 in FIG. 2 (4 bytes × 588, 2352 bytes), a synchronization pattern in which all 0s or all 1s of 1-byte data are formed at the head position is recorded. Followed by the cluster address
(Cluster H) (Cluster L) and sector address (Secto
An address to be r) is recorded over 3 bytes, and 1 byte of mode information (MODE) is added. The 3-byte address here is the address of the sector itself. The sector is 2352
It is a byte data unit, and 36 sectors constitute one cluster. One cluster is the minimum unit of the recording operation in the mini disc system. The header portion in which the synchronization pattern and the address are recorded is not limited to the U-TOC sector 0, but the same applies to the P-TOC sector and the sector in the program area (the area where the actual audio data is recorded). The address and synchronization pattern of the sector itself are recorded in units.

Subsequently, a maker code, a model code, and a track number (F
irst TNO), track number of last track (Last T
NO), data such as sector usage (Used sectors), disk serial number, and disk ID are recorded.

Further, various pointers (P-DFA) are used as pointers in order to identify the areas of tracks (music, etc.) and free areas recorded by the user by making them correspond to a table section described later. , P-EMPT
An area for recording Y, P-FRA, and P-TNO1 to P-TNO255) is prepared.

As a table unit corresponding to the pointers (P-DFA to P-TNO255), 255 parts tables (01h) to (FFh) are provided, and each part table has a certain number. For a part, a start address as a starting point, an end address as an end, and mode information (track mode) of the part are recorded. Furthermore, since parts indicated in each part table may be successively connected to other parts, link information indicating a part table in which a start address and an end address of the connected part are recorded can be recorded. Have been. Note that a part refers to a track portion in which temporally continuous data is physically continuously recorded in one track. And the start address,
The address indicated as the end address is an address indicating one or a plurality of parts constituting one music piece (track).

This type of recording / reproducing apparatus reproduces data of one music piece (= track) in a physically discontinuous manner, that is, even when recorded over a plurality of parts, while accessing between parts. Since there is no hindrance to the reproduction operation, the music or the like recorded by the user may be recorded in a plurality of parts for the purpose of efficient use of the recordable area.

For this reason, link information is provided, and the part tables can be connected by designating the part tables to be connected by, for example, the numbers (01h) to (FFh) given to the respective part tables.
In other words, in the table section in the U-TOC sector 0, one part table represents one part. For example, for a music composed of three parts connected, three parts tables connected by link information Manages the position of the part.
Note that the link information is actually U-
It is indicated by a numerical value which is a byte position in TOC sector 0. That is, the part table is designated as 304+ (link information) × 8 (byte).

Each part table from (01h) to (FFh) in the table section of the U-TOC sector 0 includes pointers (P-DFA, P-EMPTY, P-FRA, P-TNO1) in the pointer section.
~ P-TNO255) indicates the contents of the part as follows.

The pointer P-DFA indicates a defective area on the magneto-optical disk 90, and is a head in one or more parts tables showing a track portion (= part) which becomes a defective area due to a scratch or the like. Parts table is specified. That is, when a defective part exists, any one of (01h) to (FFh) is recorded in the pointer P-DFA, and the corresponding part table indicates the defective part by the start and end addresses. If another defective part exists, another part table is designated as link information in the part table, and the defective part is also indicated in the part table. If there is no other defective part, the link information is set to, for example, "00h".
After that, there is no link.

The pointer P-EMPTY is 1 in the table section.
Or, indicates the leading parts table of a plurality of unused parts tables, and if there is an unused parts table, (01h) to (FFh) as a pointer P-EMPTY.
Is recorded. If there are multiple unused part tables, the part tables are sequentially specified by the link information from the part table specified by the pointer P-EMPTY, and all the unused part tables are connected on the table part. .

The pointer P-FRA indicates a free area (including an erasure area) where data can be written on the magneto-optical disk 90, and one or a plurality of track portions (= parts) indicating the free area are indicated. The first part table in the parts table is specified. In other words, if there is a free area, (01
h) to (FFh) are recorded, and in the corresponding parts table, parts which are free areas are indicated by start and end addresses. When there are a plurality of such parts, that is, when there are a plurality of parts tables, the link information sequentially designates the parts table whose link information is "00h".

FIG. 3 schematically shows the management state of parts that are free areas by using a parts table. This is because when the parts (03h) (18h) (1Fh) (2Bh) (E3h) are set as free areas, this state follows the pointer P-FRA and the parts table (03h) (18h) (1Fh) (2Bh) The state represented by the link (E3h) is shown. The above-described management of the defective area and the unused parts table is the same.

The pointers P-TNO1 to P-TNO255 are
0 indicates a track such as a song recorded by the user. For example, the pointer P-TNO1 indicates a temporally leading part of one or a plurality of parts on which data of the first track is recorded. Specified parts table. For example, when the track set as the first track is recorded on the disc without dividing the track, that is, as one part, the recording area of the first track is set to the start position in the parts table indicated by the pointer P-TNO1. And the end address.

For example, when the music set as the second track is discretely recorded on a plurality of parts on the disc, each part is designated in time order to indicate the recording position of the second track. Is done. That is, the pointer
From the part table designated as P-TNO2, another part table is successively designated by the link information according to the time sequence, and linked to the part table having the link information "00h" (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 3). Similar form). In this way, for example, since all parts on which data constituting the second music are recorded are sequentially designated and recorded, the data of the U-TOC sector 0
At the time of reproducing a music piece or performing overwrite recording on the area of the second music piece, the optical head 3 and the magnetic head 6a are accessed to take out continuous music information from discrete parts and to efficiently use the recording area. Recording becomes possible.

As described above, for the rewritable magneto-optical disk 90, the area management on the disk is performed by the P-TOC.
The music and free areas recorded in the recordable user area are performed by U-TOC.

[U-TOC Sector 1] Next, FIG.
-Indicates the format of TOC sector 1. The sector 1 is used as a data area for recording input character information when a track name is given to each recorded track or a disc name is used as information such as the name of the disc itself.

The U-TOC sector 1 has a pointer P-TN as a pointer section corresponding to each recorded track.
A1 to P-TNA255 are prepared, and the pointers P-TNA1 to P-TNA255
The slot part specified by TNA255 is 8 bytes in one unit, and slots (01h) to (FFh) of 255 units and one slot (00h) of 8 bytes are prepared. Character data is managed in a similar manner.

In the slots (01h) to (FFh), character information as a disc title or a track name is recorded in ASCII code. Then, for example, a character input by the user corresponding to the first track is recorded in the slot specified by the pointer P-TNA1. Further, by linking the slots by the link information, the character input corresponding to one track can be handled even if it is larger than 7 bytes (7 characters). Note that 8 bytes as the slot (00h) are a dedicated area for recording a disc name, and are not specified by the pointer P-TNA (x). This U-TOC sector 1
But the pointer P-EMPTY manages unused slots.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which a track name is registered in U-TOC sector 1. That is, the pointer P-TNA1 is set as the track name corresponding to the first track.
Slot (01h) and its slot (0
1h) in the slot (02h) linked from
A character string "I SONG" is registered. Also, according to the pointer P-TNA2 and link information, the slot (03h)
(04h), (06h) and (07h) are linked, and a track name corresponding to the second track is recorded in these four slots. Further, a track name corresponding to the third track is recorded in the slot (05h) indicated by the pointer P-TNA3.

As shown in this example, a required number of slots are used in accordance with the number of characters to be registered, and a maximum of 1792 (= 7 × 256) characters can be registered.

[U-TOC Sector 4] FIG.
C sector 4 indicates data for recording the input character information when a user gives a track name (track name) or a disc name to a track on which recording has been performed, similarly to the sector 1 described above. The format is almost the same as that of the sector 1 as can be seen by comparing FIG. 6 and FIG. However, in the sector 4, code data (two-byte code) corresponding to Chinese characters and European characters can be recorded, and a character code attribute (character code) is recorded at a predetermined byte position. The management of the character information of the U-TOC sector 4 is performed in the same manner as in the sector 1, in which 255 units of slots (01h) to (FFh) specified by the pointers P-TNA1 to P-TNA255 and the pointers P-TNA1 to P-TNA255. Done by

3. Area Configuration of Buffer Memory As described above, the buffer memory 13 stores audio data in a compressed state during recording and reproduction on the disk 90, and also holds TOC information read from the disk 90. For this purpose, the buffer memory 13 has, for example, an area configuration as shown in FIG.

The buffer memory 13 is a 4-Mbit D-RAM, for example, and stores data corresponding to 221 sectors. As shown in FIG. 7, an area for 16 sectors is set as a TOC area for storing TOC information, and an area for 192 sectors is secured as a compressed audio data area for storing recording and reproduction data. Further, an area for 6 sectors is set as a sub data area for storing sub data, and an area for 7 sectors is set as a reserved area. For one cluster composed of 36 sectors, 32 sectors are used as sectors for audio data, and one sector is used as a sector for sub-data. The remaining three sectors are linking sectors and are not used for data recording. Therefore, 192 sectors as compressed audio data areas correspond to 6 clusters. Further, six sectors of the sub data area also correspond to six clusters. That is, buffering of six clusters is performed on the compressed audio and the sub data (corresponding to audio of about 10 seconds).

Further, as for the TOC area, necessary TOC sectors for the disk 90 are stored after the disk 90 is loaded.
Update processing for C sector 0, sector 1, sector 2, sector 4, etc. is performed once in this TOC area.
Then, the TOC information stored (updated) in the TOC area at a predetermined time is written to the disc 90. That is, the U-TOC update on the disk 90 is performed.

4. Character reading processing Hereinafter, processing for displaying a track name at the time of reproduction in the recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described. As can be understood from the description of the U-TOC sector 1, when reading out a character string (hereinafter also referred to as name data) as a track name for the n-th track, refer to the pointer P-TNA (n) and The read of the slot that has been performed will be performed. If the total number of characters of the name data is 7 characters or less, only that slot is required. If it is 8 characters or more, the next linked slot is also read. The name data has a maximum of 1792 characters.

Since the data of the U-TOC sector 1 is stored in the buffer memory 13, the determination of the pointer and the link information and the reading of the name data are processing for accessing the buffer memory 13. Buffer memory 13
Of name data from the system controller 1
1 is performed via the memory controller 12, and the data transfer rate is 100 μsec per byte.
It takes time c. If you try to read the name data of 1792 characters as the maximum number of characters, 180ms
It takes ec time.

On the other hand, in order to perform the reproducing operation, the system controller 11 issues a reproducing instruction to the memory controller 12. However, the system controller 11 controls the reproducing time so that the reproducing can be stopped at an arbitrary reproducing time. The playback instruction is issued while monitoring the
A reproduction instruction is issued at msec intervals. That is,
During reproduction, the buffer memory 13 is used for buffering data to be reproduced and output. Audio data is read from the buffer memory 13 at intervals of about 5 msec, transferred to the encoding / decoding unit 14, and reproduced and output. It has become something. Here, if the playback instruction from the system controller 11 is delayed by more than 5 msec, the memory controller 12 cannot transfer the audio data to the encoding / decoding unit 14 side, whereby the playback audio signal becomes discontinuous,
In a sense of hearing, a state in which a choppy sound can be heard.

In consideration of such circumstances, the system controller 11 displays the name data during the sound reproduction on the display unit 24.
, It is necessary to read out the name data while instructing the memory controller 12 to reproduce the data every 5 msec, and transfer the read data to the display unit 24. That is, the time that can be continuously taken for reading the name data is 5 ms.
ec.

The number of characters that can be displayed at one time on the display unit 24 is naturally limited, and it is wasteful that the display data buffer in the display unit 24 corresponds to the number of characters that can be displayed at one time or more. Usually, only a memory capacity of about the number of displayable characters is prepared. If it is not possible to display all at once with a character string with a large number of characters, scrolling is usually used to deal with it.However, there is no extra capacity for the display data buffer, so when displaying scrolling, , The name data is read from the buffer memory 13 as necessary. That is, the name data is read out a plurality of times. However, since the name data of eight characters or more is stored in a plurality of slots (not necessarily continuous slots) linked by the link information, a search (pointer or pointer) starting from the pointer for each read operation is performed starting from the pointer. Link information) must be performed, and the more the number of characters is, that is, the more data are recorded over a lot of slots, the more the number of readings for searching increases. The amount is large. That is, it takes time to read.

If it takes more than 5 msec to search / read out the name data in such a situation, the reproduction instruction cannot be performed satisfactorily, and the reproduced sound is disturbed. Therefore, in this example, the system controller 11 repeatedly issues a reproduction instruction at intervals of 5 msec or less, and searches / reads the name data from the buffer memory 13 during the interval of the reproduction instruction. In other words, the search / read processing of the name data is restricted in terms of time (the number of processings), and if the processing cannot be completed, the processing is carried over to the next gap period.

For this reason, the system controller 11 executes the processing shown in FIG. 8 as the processing relating to the buffer memory 13 including the reading of the name data. After the reproduction is started, the processing in FIG. 8 is started. During the reproduction (unless the reproduction is terminated), steps F109 to F110 are performed.
Then, a reproduction instruction is issued to the memory controller 12. By performing the reproduction instruction in step F110 every 5 msec, an appropriate reproduced sound output is maintained.

When a track name is displayed by a user's operation or a track change as a portion to be reproduced, the process proceeds from step F101 to F102 after the reproduction instruction of step F110, and firstly to step F103. Then, the pointer of the track name to be read, that is, the pointer P-TNA (n) corresponding to the target track number "n" at that time is read, and the value is set as the pointer value in step F104. Then, in step F106, the name data is read from the slot indicated by the set pointer value. Here, a predetermined number of characters is set as the maximum value of the number of characters to be read. For example, there are many cases where a plurality of slots are linked by link information after the first slot. For example, the reading in step F106 is specified to be a maximum of m characters. “M” is about 5 ms including the accompanying processing
The number is set so that reading can be completed in less than ec.

After reading a predetermined number of name data, it is determined in step F107 whether reading of all characters as the track name of the target track has been completed, and if completed, the process returns to step F101.

On the other hand, if not all the data has been read yet, the value of the link information of the last slot that has been read is stored as a continuation pointer, the name data reading process is interrupted, and the process proceeds to step F109. If the reproduction is to be continued, a reproduction instruction is issued in step F110, and then the process proceeds from step F101 to F102 to restart reading the name data. In this case, since the reading is continued, the process proceeds to step F105, in which the value of the continuation pointer stored in the previous step F108 is set, and the slot indicated by the value is accessed. Then, in step F106, the name data is read with the predetermined number of characters m as the upper limit as described above.

As described above, the reading of the name data is interrupted as necessary so that the processing of the reproduction instruction as step F110 can be executed every 5 msec, and is resumed after the reproduction instruction is issued. I have. In other words, by limiting the number of characters (including reading for search) as name data that can be read at one time, the time for one search / read process is limited, and the process of the reproduction instruction in step F110 is not performed. It is ensured that it can be executed every 5 msec. The reading of the name data having a large number of characters can be dealt with by executing the data in a plurality of times. For this reason, in this example, reading of audio data is hindered due to the lengthening of the name data reading process, and the problem that the reproduced sound becomes an inappropriate sound is solved.

Although the embodiments have been described on the assumption that a mini disk system is used, the present invention is not limited to this. Although audio data has been described as data having temporal continuity, the present invention can be applied to processing for a buffer memory when, for example, moving image video data and character information are reproduced simultaneously.

[0065]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the present invention, at the time of reproduction, a main data readout instruction is repeatedly issued to the storage means at intervals of a predetermined time or less, and search and retrieval of character information to be displayed and output are performed. The reading process is performed within a time as a gap period of the main data reading instruction. If a series of processes for searching and reading character information to be displayed and output cannot be completed within a certain time period as a gap period, the process is interrupted and a main data readout instruction is issued, and the next gap period is executed. Then, the suspended processing is resumed. In other words, by limiting the read time (the number of read characters) relating to the character information as one process, the main data read instruction can be reliably executed at predetermined time intervals. There is an effect that inhibition can be prevented. The processing related to the character information can be executed in a plurality of times while receiving the main data readout instruction, so that the reproduction output of the proper main data and the display output of the character information having an unspecified length can be performed. It can be carried out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a recording and reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows U-TOC sector 0 of the mini disc system.
FIG.

FIG. 3 shows U-TOC sector 0 of the mini disc system.
It is explanatory drawing of the link form of.

FIG. 4 shows U-TOC sector 1 of the mini disc system.
FIG.

FIG. 5: U-TOC sector 1 of the mini disc system
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a registration example of the “.

FIG. 6: U-TOC sector 4 of the mini disc system
FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a structure of a buffer memory of the recording / reproducing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process of reading name data and instructing reproduction of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 recording / reproducing device, 3 optical head, 8 encoding /
Decoding section, 11 system controller, 12 memory controller, 13 buffer memory, 14 encoding / decoding section, 23 operation section, 24 display section

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A reproducing device corresponding to a recording medium on which main data having temporal continuity and character information are recorded, reading means for reading the main data and the character information from the recording medium, Storage means for storing the main data and the character information read by the reading means; main data output means for reproducing and outputting the main data read from the storage means; and displaying character information read from the storage means. Display means for outputting, and at the time of reproduction, repeatedly instructing the storage means to read main data at intervals of a predetermined time or less, and searching and reading character information to be displayed and output to the storage means. A control unit for performing the main data reading instruction within a time period as a gap period. 2. When a series of processes for searching and reading character information to be displayed and output cannot be completed within a certain gap period, the control means interrupts the main data. 2. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a read instruction is issued, and when the next gap period is reached, the interrupted processing is restarted.