JPS61208687A - Information recording carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce an access time by dividing the memory area into plural mutually opposing partial areas, and providing an access reference position at a location that is to be the end part to respective areas between the mutually opposing partial areas. CONSTITUTION:The memory area on an optical card 1 is divided into partial areas 12 and 13. Each partial area is about the same as the conventional format and bands 3 are arranged by the track arranged in the direction A, the bands 3 being arranged on both sides of a line R in the direction C to form the partial areas 12, 13. A home position HP which is to be the access reference position is arranged at the end of the area between the partial areas 12 and 13. In reproduction, since the maximum access time tmax1 from the home position HP is shorter than heretofore because the shift distance in the direction C is reduced to one half. In such a way, the information recording carrier can easily attain an information access faster than the conventional one.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] Concerning the format of the area.

[Prior Art] In recent years, many optical recording and reproducing devices using record carriers such as optical files and compact discs have been proposed. A certain card-shaped optical record carrier (hereinafter referred to as an optical card) has also begun to be proposed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the recording format of a conventional optical card, and FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view thereof.

In both figures, a recording area 2 is provided on an optical card 1 which is a record carrier, and the recording area 2 is formed by a plurality of bands 3 arranged. Furthermore, the band 3 is formed by arranging a large number of tracks 4, and the tracks 4 have an information capacity of about several tens to 100 bits. Further, each band is separated by a reference line (hereinafter referred to as R line).

A home position IP, which is an access reference position, is provided at a corner of the optical card l. Note that arrow A is the direction of movement of the optical card l during playback.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the optical card reproducing device.

In the figure, an optical card 1 is movable in six directions of arrows by a rotation mechanism 6. Information recorded on the optical card 1 is read and reproduced track by track by the optical disc 11. First, light from a light source 7 such as an LED is focused by a lens system 8 and illuminates a certain track 4 on which information is recorded. An image of the illuminated track 4 is formed by an imaging optical system 8 onto a -dimensional sensor array 10, and an electrical signal corresponding to the information recorded on the track 4 is output from the sensor array 10.

To access any track on the optical card l, the optical head 11 is first moved in the direction of arrow C with the home position HP as a reference. The optical head 11 selects the band 3 to which the target track to be read belongs by counting the R lines 5, and stops when reaching the band. Subsequently, the optical card 1 is moved in the direction of arrow A by the rotation mechanism 6, and when it reaches the target track, the information is read. However, in an actual system,
It is rare that only one track is accessed, and in order to facilitate information management, access is usually performed in units of minimum access units (usually called sectors or blocks) each consisting of a plurality of tracks.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the maximum access time twax in the conventional optical card shown in FIG. and the time t required for the optical card 1 to move by the length of the band 3 by the rotation mechanism 6.
It is approximately equal to the sum of c.

That is, it is roughly expressed by the formula t*ax=th+tc.

However, when the optical head 11 and the rotation mechanism 8 are driven by a stepping motor and a DC motor, 1 normally th is about 2 seconds and tc is about 1 second, resulting in a maximum access time of 3 seconds. As described above, with conventional optical cards, it has not been possible to further shorten the access time.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the information recording carrier according to the present invention, the recording area is divided into a plurality of mutually opposing partial areas, and one location serving as an end for each area between the opposing partial areas is provided. It is characterized by having an access reference position at.

[Operation] With this configuration, the access time can be shortened compared to the conventional method.

[Example 1 EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the information storage Q carrier according to the present invention.

In the figure, the recording area on the optical card l is a partial area 12.
It is divided into 13 parts. Each partial area is approximately the same as the conventional format, and the tracks are arranged in the direction of arrow A to constitute band 3, and band 3 is arranged in the direction of arrow A.
The partial areas 12 and 13 are arranged in the direction of the arrow C with the area in between.

The home position HP, which is the access reference position, is provided at the end of the area between the partial areas 12 and 13.

When this embodiment having such a format is played back using the playback device shown in FIG. 5, the maximum access time tmax1 from the home position HP is th /2+tc, which is shorter than the conventional method. In a specific example, compared to the conventional t + 5 ax = 3 seconds, in this embodiment, t x ax1
= 2 seconds.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of another embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the recording area is four partial areas 14°, 15.
16 and 17, and a home position IP is provided at one location that is the end of the area between the opposing partial areas, that is, the central area surrounded by the four partial areas.

Therefore, the maximum access time tmax2 from the home position IP becomes (tb + tc)/2, which is halved compared to the conventional case, since the moving distance is halved in both the directions of arrows A and C.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the band 3 is arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the optical card 1 is shown, but the invention is not limited to this, of course, and the band 3 is arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the optical card 1. It is clear that a similar effect can be obtained even if the arrangement is at right angles.

Further, although the maximum access time was used as the access time, it is obvious that similar results can be obtained even if the average access time is used.

Furthermore, it is clear that the present invention is not only applicable to optical cards, but can also be applied to any other type of information recording carrier in which information is accessed based on the home position.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above in detail, the information recording carrier according to the present invention has the effect of easily achieving faster information access than before.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an embodiment of an information recording carrier according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a conventional optical card recording device. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the conventional optical card, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an optical card reproducing device. l-φ・Optical card 2... Recording area 3... Φ band 4...-Track 5・Fist・Reference line 12-17φ... Partial area HP... Home position agent Patent attorney Seki Yamashita Child 3 Figure 5

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An information recording carrier characterized in that a recording area is divided into a plurality of mutually opposing partial areas, and an access reference position is located at one end of each area between the opposing partial areas. (2) The information recording carrier according to claim 1, wherein the recording area is divided into two partial areas, and the access reference position is located at an end of the area between the two partial areas. . (3) The information recording carrier according to claim 1, wherein the recording area is divided into four partial areas, and the access reference position is located in a central area surrounded by the partial areas.