JPS621150A - Optical information recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute write continuously by using a single head, and also to execute a procedure of erasion-write in an almost real time, by constituting a storage device so that its capacity is set so as to be able to store new information continuously even in a recording period of information. CONSTITUTION:When an optical head 108 completes an access to a recording start position on the first track in which information is to be recorded newly by a control signal from a rotary motor control part 109, information which is recorded already is erased by the first one rotation. Subsequently, it is confirmed that the information to be recorded newly is accumulated in a storage buffer I102 or II103. This confirmation is executed, based on a signal transferred from a storage buffer control part 104, and unless the accumulation is completed, the recording operation is held by setting one rotation as a unit and it becomes a waiting time. When no accumulation completed, the information of the storage buffer I102 or II103 is converted to a signal being suitable for recording it to a disk by a converting circuit 105, an electromagnet 107 and an optical head 108 are driven through an erasion-write control part 106, and a write operation of one rotation is executed. Next, the next track is brought to an access.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field of invention] The present invention relates to a rewritable optical information recording device.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

In recent years, research has been actively conducted on optical disk memory devices that use laser light as high-density, large-capacity information recording and reproducing devices. Among these, magneto-optical recording and reproducing devices capable of reproducing and erasing recorded information are attracting particular attention, and there is an urgent need to put them into practical use.

To record information signals on this magneto-optical disk, the desired recording area is irradiated with a laser beam and the temperature is raised to nearly the Curie point. At this time, recording is performed by applying a bias magnetic field of an appropriate magnitude in the desired direction of magnetization to reverse the magnetization of the magneto-optical disk. Erasing is often performed by reversing the direction of the bias magnetic field applied during recording. In addition, for reproduction, a magneto-optical disk is irradiated with a linearly polarized laser beam, and the polarization direction of the reflected light (or transmitted light) of this laser beam is different between the part where the magnetization has been reversed and the part where the magnetization has not been reversed. This is done using magnetism and effects.

This magneto-optical disk is characterized by being rewritable, but in this case, even if you directly overwrite an area where information has already been recorded, the original old recording will not be erased and the new Information is not recorded correctly. Therefore, when rewriting, the information must be erased before it can be recorded again. In other words, when new information is transferred from outside, the necessary areas are first erased. Since new information is written in that area, the time required for rewriting is equal to the sum of the time required for erasing and the time required for writing. In other words external (e.g. terminal)
For users who provide information from the Internet, there is naturally a waiting time, which is not as inconvenient as this. Especially when recording signals such as music or video as information for long periods of time.
When information is continuously transferred from the outside at a constant transfer rate, if erasing and writing processing operations are not performed in substantially real time, signals such as music and video will be recorded with interruptions. In other words, it is impossible to record music or visual signals on this magneto-optical disk.

In addition, a temporary storage buffer is required to store the time from when new information is transferred from the outside until it is written, but the larger the amount of new information that needs to be rewritten, the more buffers are required. The capacity also increases.

Furthermore, many problems remain with the recording method using magneto-optical disks, such as the need to know the amount of information to be rewritten in advance in order to erase information.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to be able to perform continuous writing using a single head, and to perform erasing and writing grosser in substantially real time. In other words, the object is to provide a device that solves all of the above problems.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention relates to a magneto-optical head that records or erases information on an information recording medium by irradiating light and applying a magnetic field, a storage device that stores information to be recorded, and an operation for storing information in this storage device. means for supplying an erasing signal to the magneto-optical head to erase old recorded information in a desired area on the information recording medium; reading and supplying the magneto-optical head;
and means for recording in an erasure area of the information recording medium,
The present invention provides an optical information recording and reproducing device, wherein the capacity of the storage device is set so that new information can be continuously stored even during the information recording period by the magneto-optical head.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, even a large amount of information continuously transferred from the outside can be recorded (including rewritten) in real time without interruption. In other words, an extremely user-friendly device is realized in which the user can perform operations similar to rewriting by overwriting without being aware of the waiting time due to the erasing operation.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus using a magneto-optical disk as a recording medium. magneto-optical disk 20
1 is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed by a rotary motor 203 connected to a rotary motor control section 202 . 1
07 is an electromagnet for generating a magnetic field necessary for recording or erasing.

108 is an optical head consisting of a laser, a photodetector, an optical element, etc. for irradiating laser light onto the disk 2 (11) and further performing focusing control, tracking control, signal detection. Electromagnet 107 and optical head 108
are held in positions facing each other across the disk, and constitute a magneto-optical head 204.

The magneto-optical head 204 is held on a feed motor 205 connected to a feed motor control section 206, and is simultaneously driven to move to an arbitrary radial position on the magneto-optical disk 201.

The optical information recording and reproducing apparatus in this embodiment has a recording mode and a reproducing mode, and when executing the recording/reproducing mode,
Controlled by an external system. This external system sends recording/playback mode instruction signals, recording/playback track numbers, recording/playback information, etc. to the interface 201.
The data is transferred to the magneto-optical disk device control unit 209 via. Each recording and playback mode is controlled by this recording mode control section 11.
0 or is executed by the playback mode control unit 207.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the state of the recording area when information on the magneto-optical disk is rewritten in the apparatus of this embodiment. It is assumed that recording is performed so that a spiral recording string is formed on the disk. Also, the disk branch is fixed to make it easier to separate.

The access positions of the magneto-optical heads are depicted as rotating relative to each other. The access position of the magneto-optical head moves clockwise in the figure, and recording proceeds from the inner circumference to the outer circumference of the disk.

(a) is a diagram showing the basic erase-write sequence in the operation unit of the recording mode. Once the area to be recorded is known, the magneto-optical head accesses the start position 401 of the operation unit of the recording mode.

This starting position 401 is the disk 2 indicated by a dotted line in the figure.
01 in the radial direction. Then the first track-
When the erasure is completed (when the magneto-optical head has moved to position 402 on the track), the magneto-optical head returns to position 401 again by track jump. Here, it is checked whether the information desired to be recorded on the first track has been accumulated in the storage buffer and the preparation for writing has been completed.
After writing information up to 2, the magneto-optical head is moved to position 403 by track jump in order to proceed to the next step. On the other hand, if the write preparation is not completed, it waits while accessing the same track in a state of idle feed by track jump until the write preparation is completed, and when the write preparation is completed, the above-mentioned write is performed. In this way, this operation is repeated successively toward the outer periphery to rewrite the necessary information.

(bl) to (b2) are diagrams showing an example of processing at the start of recording.

The first example of (bl) is a case where the recording start position and the start position of the operation unit of the recording mode are the same. In the figure, a position 404 is a position that is accessed by the magneto-optical head at the same time when information to be newly recorded begins to be transferred. This method starts with the disk 201 which is the beginning of the operation single item.
The rotational position of is determined when the information is transferred.

(b2) A second example is a case in which the recording start position and the operation unit of the recording mode are both provided on a certain reference line. This reference line is a line 4 through which the access point of the head passes when a signal synchronized with the rotation of the disk is issued from the rotation control section.
This line 406 is provided because in a control system in which the device is controlled in synchronization with the rotation of the disk 2010 at 06, control becomes easier by setting the starting position of the unit of operation on this line 406.

In the figure, when the magneto-optical head is accessing position 405 at the point when information to be newly recorded begins to be transferred, point 407 that first reaches this line 406 is the recording start position and recording Indicates the starting position of the mode's operation unit.

In this case, since the time from when information begins to be transferred until when writing begins includes waiting for the disk to rotate, it is necessary to control the storage buffer and the like at a corresponding timing.

(b3) is a third example, and similarly to the processing example (b2) above, the start position of the operation unit is the access point of the head when a signal synchronized with the rotation of the disk is generated from the rotary motor control unit. The passing line 408 is used, but the recording start position is, for example, a point designated from an external system. In other words, if point 409 in the figure is the specified recording start position, in this processing example, the magneto-optical head waits while repeatedly accessing points 409, 410, and 411 in a closed loop until the information is transferred, erases, Writing is performed on the area after point 409, and the writing is characterized in that existing records are not erased more than necessary. This method makes it easier to manage information on the disc.

Combinations of the recording start position and the start position of the recording mode operation unit other than those described above are possible, and can be realized by controlling the erase/write operation, storage buffer, etc. accordingly.

(c) is an explanatory diagram of processing at the end of recording. 412 in figure
is the starting line of the recording mode operation unit, and position 413 is the position 1 position 414 where the last transferred information was written.
is the start position of the rewrite operation, and position 415 is one track outside position 414. If the rewriting operation described in (a) is repeated here, positions 413 and 4
In the area between 15 and 15, there is no new information written, only the already recorded information 19 has been erased,
If the size of the area required for rewriting is known, it is not necessarily necessary to record and erase the area from position 413 to position 415, although this will result in operational waste. In other words, the erase operation is aborted after the magneto-optical head accesses position 413, and the write operation is also performed by setting the write abort pointer to the position of the last transferred information in the storage buffer. By performing processing as necessary, such as not writing the contents of the buffer, rewriting can be completed without executing unnecessary operations.

Above, we have shown various examples of how information on a magneto-optical disk is rewritten. Figure 1 shows a control method from when information is input from an external system to when it is written on a magneto-optical disk, which is the main feature of the present invention. is shown below using

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a recording mode control section (FIG. 2 110) shown in a schematic block diagram of the apparatus of FIG. 2. Here, the recording mode control unit 110 is an electromagnet 107% optical head 10 for explanation purposes.
8 and the rotary motor control section 109 only. This recording mode control section 110 includes a counter 101, a modulation circuit 105, and two storage buffers 1.
．． 1% 102, 103, a storage buffer control section 104, and an erase/write control section 106.

New information to be recorded is continuously input to the signal indicating counter 101. Here, this signal is divided into blocks according to the format of the disc, each having an amount of information equivalent to one revolution of the disc. Blocking operation means that information equivalent to one revolution of the disk passes through the counter 101, and when the count of the counter 101 reaches a predetermined value, the storage buffer control unit 104 switches the input/output of the storage buffer ■ and the storage buffer ■. means to do. For example, while the information stored in the storage buffer 103 is being output to the modulation circuit 105, which will be described later, the other storage buffer 102 is storing information transferred from the outside. When the amount of information equivalent to one rotation of the disk is stored in memory, 2
The storage buffer control unit 104 controls the operations of the two storage buffers to alternate.

The recording mode is set in synchronization with the rotation of the disk transferred from the rotary motor control unit 109 and a good signal is transmitted from the storage buffer control unit 1.
The erase/write control unit 106 controls the electromagnet 10 based on a signal indicating the state of the storage buffer transferred from the
7 and the optical head 108. To explain specifically, first, the rotary motor control section 109
When the optical head 108 completes access to the recording start position on the first track where new information is to be recorded in response to a control signal from the optical head 108, the information already recorded on that track is erased during the first revolution. Next, it is confirmed that the information to be newly recorded on the track has been stored in the storage buffer I 102 or 103. This confirmation is performed based on a signal transferred from the storage buffer control unit 104. If the storage has not been completed, the recording operation is suspended in units of one rotation and is used as a waiting time. When the storage is completed, the information in the storage buffer 1102 or 103 is transferred to the modulation circuit 10.
5 to convert it into a signal suitable for recording on a disc,
The electromagnet 107 and the optical head 108 are driven via the erase/write control section 106 to perform a one-rotation write operation. Then access the next track. Similarly, for subsequent tracks, an erasing operation is performed for the first rotation on each track, and a writing operation is performed after waiting for the completion of accumulation of information to be recorded.

In this way, execution of the recording mode is continued by repeating the recording operation, but in order to do so, it takes longer than the time required to transfer the amount of information equivalent to one rotation of the disk.
It is necessary that the time required for the disk to rotate twice is shorter.

The time required for the disk to rotate twice, which is shorter than the time required to transfer the amount of information equivalent to one rotation of the disk, is the margin for securing one hour of operation of circuits, etc. If this margin is sufficiently short compared to the time required for the disk to rotate once, the recording operation may be suspended in units of one rotation between the rotation for erasing and the rotation for writing. The frequency of setting the time is reduced, and time can be used more efficiently for recording. Furthermore, if the information to be recorded is transferred from an external system in synchronization with the rotation of the disk, it is possible to eliminate the need to set a waiting time for suspending the recording operation in units of one rotation.

FIG. 3 is a diagram chronologically tracking the memory amount of information in the two storage buffers and the operation of the erasure/write control section.

In the figure, A indicates a position where information to be recorded transferred from an external system via the interface or the like is divided into DI + D2 + . . . for each amount of information corresponding to one rotation of the disk. B and C are polygonal lines showing temporal changes in the amount of information stored in the storage buffers ① and ① described above.

D indicates the time axis, with a scale marked every rotation of the disk. The number below it indicates the track number that the optical head is accessing. Further, E indicates the operation of the erase/write control section. First, at D, the storage buffer I stores information, while the storage buffer ■ is empty. During this time, one track is erased. In B2, the memory buffer ■ is memorized, and during this time, the information previously stored in the memory buffer ■ has been erased.
written to the track. When writing is completed, the next two tracks are accessed and erasing of the second track begins. When erasing of two tracks is completed, the information stored in the previous storage buffer H is written here. The information is sequentially rewritten through this process. In the figure, a rotation is set in which the recording operation is suspended on tracks 1 and 5. That's when the track number is 1.

This occurs because the information to be recorded on the track has not been completely stored in the storage buffer (2) since the information has just been transferred from the external system. Track number 5 is a waiting time due to the cumulative amount of time required for transferring the amount of information equivalent to one revolution of the disc, which is longer than the time required for two revolutions of the disc.

As mentioned above, the information that is transferred sequentially (B in the figure)
l +C2J3 +C4, B5. -zc5") K can be input without interruption, and the two operations of erasing and recording can be performed efficiently.
The time (sum of erasing time and recording time) conventionally required for erasing and subsequent recording using a single magneto-optical head can be recorded in substantially real time for a large amount of information transferred from the outside. In other words, there is no need for the user to consciously execute the erasing operation during the rewriting operation, and the optical information recording device can be executed as if it were possible to overwrite the data, thereby realizing an extremely user-friendly optical information recording device.

[Other embodiments of the invention]

The recording mode control section described above is not limited to this.

The structure may be similar to the structure according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. Here, for the purpose of explanation, the recording mode control section 500 includes an electromagnet 509, an optical head 510, and a rotary motor control section 5.
It is shown as if it were connected only to 11. This recording mode control section 500 includes a buffer input control section 501, an input address register 502, a single storage buffer 503,
It consists of a modulation circuit 504, a buffer output control section 505, an output address register 506, a processor 507, and an erase/write control section 508. The capacity of the storage buffer 503 is the information capacity equivalent to one revolution of the disk plus a slight margin. This storage buffer 503 is also provided with an address.

For example, data transferred from an external system via an interface or the like is sequentially stored in the storage buffer 503 via the buffer input control 501 starting from the lowest address number. On the other hand, information from buffer input control section 501 is input to input address register 502, and is made to indicate the most recently input address. When the information stored in the storage buffer 503 reaches the capacity of the buffer, the information returns to the location with the lowest artless number and is sequentially and cyclically accessed and output. Here, due to the speed at which the information sequentially transferred from the buffer input side, the control section 501, is input to the storage buffer 503, the speed at which it is output from there is faster, so the capacity will not overflow. The output from the storage buffer 503 is controlled by a buffer output control section 505, and the latest address of the output from this section is indicated in the output address register 506. On the other hand, the information transferred to the buffer output control section 505 is recorded on the disk via the modulation circuit 504 by the operation of the erase/write control section 508 in the same way as in the previous embodiment.

In addition, the operation timing for the buffer output control section 505 and the erase/write control section 508 is determined by the input address register 5.
02, is calculated by the processor 507 based on the information of the output address register 506, and the rotary motor control unit 511, and is controlled respectively.

FIG. 6 shows the recording mode set using the recording mode control section which has the single storage buffer shown in FIG. This is a diagram that was tracked in detail. A is the memory amount of one memory buffer, and B is the time axis, with a scale marked every rotation of the disk. C indicates the track number that the magneto-optical head is accessing, and indicates whether the track number is erased or deleted during each rotation.
Shows a write operation.

Assume that the amount of information transferred from the outside during the time T when the disk rotates once is K, and information of 2+α (α 2 ) is recorded on the tracks for one revolution of the disk. The buffer capacity n is n = 2K + α + β (β〉0
) and has addresses from 0 to n-14. here,
α and β are assumed to be margins for securing the operating time of the circuit. Let X be the precedence of the output address with respect to the input address. The amount of information in the buffer increases by K during time T when in erasing mode, and decreases by +α during recording mode. Between the erase and write operations for track numbers l and 4, the operation is suspended for the time it takes for the disk to rotate once. This is performed when X≦+α.

In this way, with a single magneto-optical head and with a single storage buffer, the same effects as those described in detail of the invention described above can be achieved.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

For example, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which an electromagnet is used as the magnetic field generating device, but a permanent magnet may also be used, and the present invention is not limited in any way. Furthermore, although this embodiment shows an example of recording on a spiral track, it is also possible to record on, for example, a concentric track by changing the track jump control, and the shape of such a track can also be changed. , without any limitation. Recording may proceed from the inner circumference of the disk toward the outer circumference, or may proceed from the outer circumference toward the inner circumference. Furthermore, although this example describes a case where information is recorded densely on a track, the present invention also applies when a format is adopted in which information is divided into sectors and recorded in consideration of system expandability, etc. Any modification is possible as long as it does not depart from the spirit of this invention, such as applying the function of the invention, and such modifications are included in this invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording mode control section according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a recording mode control section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the state of the recording area when rewriting is performed. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the change in information amount and the operation of the recording mode over time. FIG. A schematic configuration diagram of the mode control section,
FIG. 6 is a diagram chronologically showing changes in the amount of information and operation of the recording mode according to another embodiment of the present invention. 101... Counter, 102... Memory buffer■
103... Storage buffer II, 104... Storage buffer control section, 105... Modulation circuit, 106... Erasing/writing control section, 107... Electromagnet, 108...
Optical head 1109...Rotary motor control unit. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 8 (b2) (c) Figure 4 Each η Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A magneto-optical head that performs recording or erasing on an information recording medium by irradiating light and applying a magnetic field, a storage device that stores only one piece of information to be recorded, and a storage device that stores information in the storage device. means for supplying an erasing signal to the magneto-optical head to erase old recorded information in a desired area on the information recording medium; a means for supplying a magneto-optical head and recording in an erasing area of the information recording medium, and the capacity of the storage device is set so that new information can be continuously stored even during the recording period of information by the magneto-optical head. An optical information recording/reproducing device characterized by: (2) The optical information recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the capacity of the storage device is at least a capacity corresponding to the amount of information to be recorded in the area to be recorded. (3) The storage device consists of two storage buffers, the first
The optical information recording device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that while information is being stored in the second storage buffer, the second storage buffer is controlled to read out the stored information. playback device.