KR0176240B1 - Data recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

The data recorder records data having a predetermined data format and frame address in a recording medium in a frame unit each composed of a predetermined amount of data, and a plurality of data areas each composed of a plurality of data areas in which different types of data are recorded during recording. And a recording unit for including recording means for forming a partition. The data recorder performs initialization of at least one partition length.

Description

Data recorder

[Field of Invention]

The present invention relates to a data recorder for recording and reproducing data transmitted from, for example, a computer using a rotating head type digital audio tape recorder (DAT).

[Description of the Prior Art]

In a computer, in order to protect (back up) data recorded on a hard disk or the like, these data are transferred and recorded to a data streamer (data recorder) once a day.

As a conventional data recorder, a 1/4 inch data cartridge type data recorder is often used. However, the data recorder consumes a large amount of magnetic tape and has a low data rate in the recording mode. Therefore, the transfer / write operation is time consuming. Since the data recorder cannot perform the fast search operation, it takes considerable time to search the beginning of the desired data.

Recently, a spiral scanning digital audio tape recorder using a rotating head, which is widely used commercially, so-called DAT, is used as a data recorder. When the DAT is used as a data recorder, data from the host computer is converted into data having a DAT format and then recorded. In the DAT format, two oblique tracks formed during one revolution of two heads with different azimuth angles are given as one frame, and 16-bit pulse code modulated (PCM) audio data is divided into half and two Eight bit data are interleaved and recorded frame by frame. Sub data is also recorded. In this case, as detailed below, a main area for recording PCM data and a sub area for recording sub data are formed on each track. 1 shows the tape format when the DAT is used as a data recorder.

Referring to FIG. 1, the magnetic tape 17 includes a magnetic body portion having a total length L ₀ (tape length), and transparent leader tape portions 17a and 17b connected to respective ends of the magnetic body portion. It consists of. The leading end of the magnetic body portion is referred to as Beginning of Media (BOM) and the end portion is referred to as End Of Media (EOM). The end-of-tape (EOT), representing the pre-end, is located at a distance of l ₂ length from the EOM towards the BOM. A point located l ₁ length away from the BOM is called a starting of tape (BOT). Various data to be described below are recorded after the BOT. The area from the BOM to the BOT is called the device area 17c. The device area 17c is empty or the device test signal is recorded and reproduced. When the head is in the device area 17c, the tape cassette is attached / detached or the tape 17 is loaded or unloaded. Note that the length l ₁ is for example l ₁ = 350 ± 10 mm and the length l ₂ is for example l ₂ = 500 mm (≒ 2045 frames). A signal indicating the start of data is recorded following the device area 17c with the reference area 17d of 35 frames. A history such as the number of read and write operations, errors, etc. is recorded following the reference area 17d by the system area 17e of 115 frames. The system area 17e is followed by an area of 23 frames called a vendor group 17f capable of recording desired data. The vendor area 17f is followed by a group area 17g in which backup data transmitted from the host computer is recorded. The group area 17g includes a plurality of groups each having 23 frames. Following the group area 17g, an End Of Data (EOD) signal is recorded in 300 frames, so that data found to be recorded after EOD at the time of reproduction is ignored as old data. The area from the BOM to the system area 17e is called a lead-in, and the area including the vendor group 17f and the group area 17g is called a data area.

When a DAT is used as the data recorder and data is recorded and reproduced according to the above-described format, the contents of the table must be recorded on the tape 17 so as to know the type and location of the data transmitted from the host computer and recorded on the tape 17. do. The table contents include, for example, the data file name, the date the data was created, the name of the person who created the data, and a brief description of the data and the data address. The area in which the contents of the table are recorded is called a directory area. The directory area of the desired length is recorded at a suitable position after the BOT shown in FIG. 1 or immediately before the EOD according to a predetermined data format.

In this case, however, a specific data format for the directory area must be provided, which inevitably significantly modifies the software and hardware of the system. In addition, certain command signals must be prepared for access between the CPU and the system. Also, if the directory area is provided immediately before the EOD, it takes considerable time to read the directory area after the tape cassette is loaded into the DAT. Moreover, during data recording, there is a possibility that the recorded directory area is inadvertently erased by a malfunction or the like.

[Object and Summary of the Invention]

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved data recorder that can overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data recorder capable of forming a directory area with minimal changes in software and hardware.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a data recorder which can prevent the directory area from being inadvertently erased.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a data recorder in which the length of the directory area is arbitrarily determined and data can be freely rewritten and added within the length.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a data recorder in which a plurality of partitions PARTITIONS are formed to have the same data format and each partition can be accessed independently.

A data recorder according to one aspect of the present invention is provided;

A plurality of partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which data having a predetermined data format and a frame address are recorded on a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of a predetermined amount of data, and in which different types of data are recorded during recording. Recording means for forming;

Means for receiving information of a data amount of the one partition to initialize the length of at least one of the partitions;

Means for determining the partition length of one of the partitions from received information of a read after write margin and the partition capacity of the one of the partitions;

Means for recording a signal indicative of the length of the at least one partition of the partitions into a predetermined data area.

Data recorder according to another aspect of the present invention;

A plurality of partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which data having a predetermined data format and a frame address are recorded on a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of a predetermined amount of data, and in which different types of data are recorded during recording. Recording means for forming;

Means for receiving information of a data amount of the one partition to initialize the length of at least one of the partitions;

Means for determining a partition length of one of said partitions from a margin for pauses and received information of said one of said partition capacities;

Means for recording a signal indicative of the length of the at least one partition of the partitions into a predetermined data area.

Data recorder according to another aspect of the present invention;

A plurality of partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which data having a predetermined data format and a frame address are recorded on a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of a predetermined amount of data, and in which different types of data are recorded during recording. Recording means for forming;

Means for receiving information of the amount of data in the at least one partition to initialize the length of at least one of the partitions;

Means for determining a partition length of one of said partitions from a read margin after write and a stop margin and received information of a capacity of at least one of said partitions;

Means for recording a signal indicative of the length of the at least one partition of the partitions into a predetermined data area.

The above objects, characteristics, advantages, and other characteristics of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to the same or similar parts.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a tape format of a data recorder according to the prior art.

2 is a block diagram showing an apparatus of a digital tape recorder to which the present invention can be advantageously applied.

3 is a schematic diagram showing the data format of a digital tape recorder.

4 is a schematic diagram showing the data format of a main data block.

5A and 5B show data blocks of a sub code block, respectively.

6 is a schematic diagram showing the data format of a pack of subcode blocks.

7 is a schematic diagram showing a tape format of a data recorder according to the present invention.

8A to 8C are schematic diagrams showing the tape format of the present invention referred to to explain the change in the tape format, respectively, when data is rewritten or added.

9 is a flow chart referenced to explain the steps involved in performing initialization of Partition 1. FIG.

10 is a flow chart for reference in explaining the steps involved in writing directory data to partition 1. FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: Digital Audio Tape Recorder (DAT) 2: Interface Bus Line

6: recording / reproducing section 7: recording amplifier

8: reproduction amplifier 17: magnetic tape

17a, 17b: tip tape portion 17c: device area

17d: reference area 17e: system area

17f: vendor group 17g: group area

Hereinafter, a data recorder according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

2 shows an apparatus of a digital audio tape recorder (DAT) in which the present invention can be advantageously applied. In FIG. 2, 1 generally denotes a DAT, 2 denotes an interface bus line, 3 denotes a host computer, 4 and 5 internal bus lines. In FIG. 2, the DAT 1 mainly comprises a recording / reproducing section 6, a recording amplifier 7, a reproducing amplifier 8, a signal processing circuit 9, a random access memory (RAM) 10, and a data controller ( 11), an interface board 12, a system controller 13, a servo and motor drive circuit 14, and the like.

The system controller 13, the signal processing circuit 9, and the data controller 11 are arranged so that predetermined signals such as absolute frame numbers (AFNO) (described later) can be exchanged with each other.

The recording / reproducing section 6 is provided with a rotating head drum (not shown). The magnetic tape is wound around the rotating head drum at an angle of about 90 degrees or more and carried by a capstan. The rotating head drum has two recording heads A and B having different azimuth angles, and two reproduction heads A 'and B' having different azimuth angles. During one revolution of the drum, signals are recorded on the tape by the recording heads A and B as two oblique tracks, and the recorded signals are reproduced from the tape by the reproduction heads A 'and B'.

Digital data supplied from the host computer 3 via the bus lines 5, 2 and 4 is input to the interface board 12, and then the data controller 11 in a predetermined manner in accordance with a command from the system controller 13. Is processed by the random access memory (RAM) 10 and the signal processing circuit 9. In this way, the digital data is converted into the above-mentioned DAT format. The converted signal is supplied to the recording / reproducing section 6 through the recording amplifier 7 and then recorded on the magnetic tape by the recording heads A and B.

The signals recorded on the magnetic tape are reproduced by the reproduction heads A 'and B'. The reproduced signal is supplied to the signal processing circuit 9 through the reproduction amplifier 8. The digital data of the result of the re-conversion of the signal reproduced by the signal processing circuit 9 is transferred to the host computer 3 through the data controller 11, the interface board 12, and the bus lines 4, 2, 5. Supplied.

In the above-described apparatus, the DAT format on the magnetic tape is displayed as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, during one rotation of the recording heads A and B, two slanted tracks T _A and T _B are placed on the tape 17 as shown from the bottom of the figure as shown by the arrow a. It can be seen that it is formed. Two tracks T _A and T _B constitute one frame. The track T _A (or T _B ) consists of 196 blocks, one block of 288 bits. 34 blocks at each end serve as sub-regions, and the central 128 blocks act as main regions.

Each sub area is further divided to provide several sections. In particular, from the bottom of the track, a margin section, a phase locked loop (PLL) preamble section of a sub code, a first sub-code section, a postamble section, a gap section between adjacent blocks, and an automatic track following (ATF) Signal section, gap section between adjacent blocks, PLL preamble section of data, gap section between adjacent blocks, ATF signal section, gap section between adjacent blocks, PLL preamble section of sub-code, second sub-code section, post An amble section and a margin section are provided. Each of the first and second sub-code sections consists of eight blocks, and the other blocks each consist of a predetermined number of blocks. Note that in Figure 3, the size of the section length is not accurate.

The main area consists of 128 data blocks. As shown in FIG. 4, each block is composed of an 8-bit sync signal (sync), an 8-bit PCM-ID (W ₁ ), an 8-bit block address (W ₂ ), and 8-bit parity. It is stored in the subsequent 256 bit section. The main data is 16-bit PCM data for the L (left) and R (right) channels when the audio signal is processed. The 16-bit main data is divided to provide two 8-bit main data, which are interleaved in the main region of the slope tracks T _A and T _B (one frame) with parity. When the DAT is used as a data recorder, the data transmitted from the host computer 3 is treated as main data in the same manner. The data is formatted as shown in Fig. 4 and recorded in one frame main area.

The data format of the first and second sub-code sections in the subregion of FIG. 3 will be described.

Each of the first and second sub-code sections consists of eight sub-code blocks, and can record 2048-bit data.

5A and 5B show the data format of each sub-code block. After the 8-bit synchronous signal, the W ₁ and W ₂ sections and parity are stored, and 256-bit sub code data including parity is stored. The sub-code data consists of four packs each consisting of 8 x 8 bits (8 symbols).

A block with even (EVEN) and odd (ODD) block addresses has different contents W ₁ and W ₂ . As shown in Figs. 5A and 5B, pack numbers 1 to 7 are provided in even and odd blocks. The eighth pack contains the C ₁ code for error detection.

The W ₁ section of the even block consists of a 4-bit area ID and a 4-bit data ID, and the W ₂ section of the even block consists of the upper 1 bit (1), the 3 bit pack ID, and the 4 bit block address. The W ₁ section of the radix block consists of a 4-bit undefined part and a 4-bit format ID, and the W ₂ section of the radix block contains the upper 1 bit (1), the 3-bit code that is zero total, and the 4-bit block address It is composed. Of the 3-bit codes that are all zeros, the least significant one bit is used as a PRT-ID representing a partition number related to the present invention.

Each of the packs 1 to 7 is divided into 8 words in 8 bit units. Each word includes, together with parity, a code indicating the introduction area of the recording start portion on the tape, a code indicating the lead-out area of the recording end protion, a code indicating the recording data, and an absolute frame number ( AFNO), and codes indicating a logical frame number and the like.

6 shows the format of Pack 3 of 7 packs.

As shown in FIG. 6, pack 3 consists of eight 8-bit words PC1 to PC8. The upper four bits of the word PC1 are assigned to the pack number (in this case, 11 represents pack 3). The lower four bits of the word PC1 are assigned to an area ID representing each area described later in FIG. The absolute frame number AFNO is represented by a total of 24 bits of the words PC2, PC3, PC4. AFNO is a consecutive number assigned to every frame recorded on a roll of tape. AFNO indicating a frame number constituting a partition to be described later by AFNO. MAX is provided by a total of 24 bits of words (PC5, PC6, and PC7). Word PC8 has parity for words PC1 to PC7.

Figure 7 shows the tape format when a directory area is provided in accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 7, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals.

The present invention introduces a new concept called PARTITION. Partition 1 and partition 0 are provided after the device area 17c. The data format of each of partition 1 and partition 0 is the same as the data format from the BOT in FIG. 1 to the end of the EOM. Reference numerals 17d to 17g in FIG. 1 correspond to reference numerals 17 _d1 to 17 _g1 and 17 _d0 to 17 _g0 in FIG. In the present invention, partition 1 is used as a directory area. The directory data is recorded in the group section 17 _g1 , and the same data as the data in the sections 17d to 17g in FIG. 1 is recorded in the sections 17 _d0 to 17 _g0 of partition 0. Thus, the top of each of partition 1 and partition 0 is a BOT.

The length l ₃ of partition 1 serving as a directory area can be arbitrarily determined by initialization. The length (l ₃₎ within, the directory data is written in the group section (17 _g1) is the Fig. 8a, Fig. 8b and the first 8c may also be freely rewritten and added as shown in Fig. That is, data recorded in two groups of the group section 17 _g1 as shown in FIG. 8A can be rewritten or added to four or five groups as shown in FIG. 8B or FIG. 8C. The partition number indicating partition 1 or partition 0 is recorded as a 1-bit PRT-ID as shown in FIG. 5B. AFNO MAX representing the frame number corresponding to the initialized length l ₃ as the maximum value of the absolute frame number AFNO is recorded in the 24-bit words PC5, PC6, PC7 as shown in FIG. . AFNO-MAX is recorded in the system area 17 _e1 of partition 1.

A method of determining the length l ₃ of partition 1 will be described below.

The length l ₃ is determined in accordance with the amount of data recorded in the area 17 _g1 . The amount of data is displayed by the host computer, for example. The length l ₃ is actually given by Equation 1 below as the number F of frames corresponding to the length l ₃ .

F = R + S + V + G [KU (1 + α) (1 + β)] + B + E

In Equation 1, R is the frame length of the reference region (35 frames in this case), S is the frame length of the system region (115 frames in this case), and V is the frame length of the vendor group (23 frames in this case). )to be. G is a group number resulting from dividing the data A commanded by the host computer by the amount of data in a group (125.6 KB in this case) loaded with the rest. B is the frame length of the EOD (in this case 300 frames), and E is the frame length between the EOT and the EOM (2045 frames in this case).

k is a multiple of when data is written several times. That is, in a data recorder, the same data is sometimes recorded successively in multiple frames in order to protect the data. In this case, k changes to 2, 3, ... n depending on whether the data is recorded twice, three times, ... n times. U is the number of frames in a group, in this case 23 frames.

α is called a read after write margin. When the DAT is used as a data recorder, as soon as data is recorded in one frame at the time of recording, the frame is read again to check whether the recorded data is correct. For this reason, for example, four rotating heads arranged at intervals of 90 degrees are used. If an error is detected in the recorded data, the same data is immediately recorded in another frame, and then data recording continues continuously from that point. In this case, frames written to the tape become useless while read-back data is checked for errors. α represents the total number of useless frames of a tape and is given by Equation 2 below.

α = (l + 1) P / (1 + P)

Where l represents the number of frames that are considered to be useless when an error of data recorded in one frame is detected and the frame is rewritten, and the number 1 of (l + 1) represents one frame where an error of data is found , P is the rate of occurrence of data errors on a tape.

In Equation 1, β is called a margin for pause. In the data recorder, if the data transfer rate transferred from the host computer to the data recorder is slower than the data write rate, the data sometimes does not exist in the buffer memory. In this case, the data recorder is stopped until data is stored in the buffer memory. When the data is stored, the pause is released and the data is recorded. In this case, some frames become useless after the pause is released and before data is actually written. β represents the total number of useless frames in one tape and is given by the following equation (3).

Where m is the number of stops occurring on one tape, b is the number of frames that become useless upon one stop release, N is the rotational speed of the heads A and B, and T is the duration of one tape.

In Equation 1, when the host computer requests a data amount of A = 1MkB, the length l ₃ , that is, the number of frames F, of partition 1 is calculated as follows. In this case, G is 8 (1000 / 125.6128), data is recorded twice (K = 2), and it is assumed that l = 1 and P = 1% in equation (2). In addition, it is assumed in equation (3) that m = 2,000, b = 35, N = 2000 rpm, T = 120 minutes. therefore,

∴F = 35 + 115 + 23 + 8 × 2 × 23 × 1.37 + 300 + 2045 ≒ 3023 frames

In this method, the frame number F of partition 1 is determined to be F = 3023, and initialization is performed according to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 9, in step ST-1, the tape is rewound with a BOM and then advanced by the length of the device area and stopped at the BOT. Then, AFNO 占 is obtained according to the designated frame number F. In FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the frame number F corresponding to the length l ₃ of partition 1 is AFNO 占. In step ST-2, partition 1 is designated to start recording from the reference area 17 _d1 . During this recording, in step (ST-3), and detects a termination of the recording in the reference area (17 _d1) being a monitor (monitor) AFNO of each frame. When recording is terminated in the reference area 17 _d1 , in step ST-4, partition 1 and AFNO 占 are designated, and then recording is performed in the system area 17 _e1 . Then, in step ST-5, the AFNO is monitored. When recording is terminated in the system area 17 _e1 , partition 1 is designated in step ST-6, and then a group area formed of vendor groups and at least 23 amble frames is recorded. When the recording of the vendor group and the group area is terminated, partition 1 is designated in step ST-7, and then the EOD is written to AFNO 占 in step ST-8. If AFNO = AFNO · MAX at the step (ST-9), and then is assigned the partition 0 is written in the reference area (17 _d0) in step (ST-10) is performed. Next, in step (ST-11), AFNO is monitored, a recording termination at the reference region (17 _d0) is detected, with the result the routine is terminated. After the above-described steps are executed as a routine necessary for initialization, writing in the system area 17 _e0 of partition 0 will continue to be performed.

Group section (17 _g0) because when the initialization is performed as described above, no directory data is not recorded in the group section (17 _g0) is not formed.

An operation for writing directory data in the group section 17gl after the initialization is performed will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 10, after the start of operation, in a determination step ST-21, it is determined whether or not the current position of the tape exists in partition 1. If an example is output in step ST-21, the flow advances to step ST-23. On the other hand, if the answer in step ST-21 is no, it proceeds to next step ST-22 to designate partition 1, and then proceeds to next step ST-23. In step ST-23, directory data is recorded in the group section _17g1 in group units of 23 frames, and the EOD is recorded in 300 frames to complete the operation. While recording is executed in step ST-23, the AFNO is monitored.

Further, directory data can be recorded in partition 1 of the tape on which initialization is performed by another data recorder. In this case, the tape speed of the data recorder is different (e.g., ± 0.5% range) so that the EOM is determined to be a value as small as 1% less than AFNOMAX, i.e., AFNOMAX (1-0.01). When AFNO 占 MAX (1-0.01) is obtained, this is recognized and the recording operation is stopped. If AFNO.MAX (1-0.01) -2045 is obtained before the EOM, data indicating the presence of the EOT is supplied to the host computer. Therefore, regardless of the tape speed difference of the data recorder, it is possible to prevent the data recorded in partition 0 from being erased while the data is recorded in partition 1.

In order to perform writing in partition 0, the current position of the tape is checked as in the operation of FIG. After the tape is located in partition 0, appropriate data is written to system area 17 _e0 . Then, data from the host computer is recorded in the group section 17 _{g0 in} units of groups, and the EOD is recorded in 300 frames to complete the operation.

In order to reproduce the data recorded in Partition 1 or Partition 0, the current position of the tape is checked, and then the data recorded in the desired partition is reproduced in group units.

In the above-described embodiment, two partitions (partition 1 and partition 0) are formed. However, three or more partitions may be formed. In this case, n independent partitions are formed in one tape and accessed independently of each other. In addition, the PRT-ID of FIG. 5 requires more than two bits. It goes without saying that a directory area does not need to be formed.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, since the directory area is formed at the beginning of the tape, the directory data can be read out as soon as the tape cassette is mounted. The directory area has a data format that is exactly the same as that of partition 0. Because of this, the directory area and partition 0 can in fact be accessed by conventional hardware and software. Thus, the system design hardly changes. Also, the directory area is not inadvertently erased during writing.

In addition, the length l ₃ (frame number F) can be freely determined during initialization, and the data can be freely rewritten or added within the range of l ₃ . After the tape cassette is mounted, the system area 17 _e1 of the directory area is read. In this case, AFNO MAX corresponding to l ₃ is recorded in the system area 17 _e1 . Therefore, by monitoring the AFNO · MAX, the data can be rewritten or added without departing from the stand is in the range l ₃ range. In other words, no specific signal is needed to detect whether the data is outside the range of l ₃ .

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art will appreciate the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. It is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope.

Claims (14)

A plurality of partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which data having a predetermined data format and a frame address are recorded on a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of a predetermined amount of data, and in which different types of data are recorded during recording. And recording means for forming, wherein data representing a content table of data recorded in at least one of said plurality of partitions is recorded in another said partition. The data recorder of claim 1, wherein the partition in which the content table is recorded is disposed at the beginning of the recording medium. The data recorder of claim 1, further comprising means for initializing the length of the partition. The data recorder of claim 1, further comprising means for initializing the length of the partition in which the table contents are recorded. 2. The data recorder of claim 1, further comprising means for recording a signal identifying the plurality of partitions in a predetermined data area. 2. The data recorder of claim 1, further comprising means for recording a signal indicative of the length of at least one of the partitions in a predetermined data area. The data recorder according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for recording the length of the partition in which the contents table is recorded in a predetermined data area of the partition. A data recorder for recording data on a tape medium, comprising: recording means for recording the data on a tape medium in accordance with a predetermined format, and a tape having data recorded in respective sections validated in accordance with the format, respectively; Control means for operating the recording means to record data in at least two different longitudinally spaced sections on the medium, the format specifying a plurality of recording areas sequentially arranged along a tape medium, the data And a leading and a trailing area respectively located before and after said area used for storing the data. 9. The data recorder of claim 8, wherein said control means is operable to record user data in said one section of a tape medium and write said directory of user data in a section different from said section. A plurality of partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which data having a predetermined data format and a frame address are recorded on a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of a predetermined amount of data, and in which different types of data are recorded during recording. Recording means for forming, means for receiving information of the amount of data of one partition of the partitions to initialize the length of at least one partition of the partitions, and receiving a read margin after recording and the partition capacity of one of the partitions. Means for determining a partition length of one of the partitions from the received information of the received information, and means for recording a signal indicative of the length of the at least one partition of the partitions in a predetermined data area. A plurality of partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which data having a predetermined data format and a frame address are recorded on a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of a predetermined amount of data, and in which different types of data are recorded during recording. Recording means for forming, means for receiving information of the amount of data of one of the partitions and initializing the length of at least one of the partitions, a stopping margin and received partition capacity of one of the partitions. Means for determining a partition length of one of the partitions from information and means for recording a signal indicative of a length of at least one partition of the partitions in a predetermined data area. A plurality of partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which data having a predetermined data format and a frame address are recorded on a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of a predetermined amount of data, and in which different types of data are recorded during recording. Recording means for forming, means for receiving information of the data amount of one of the partitions and initializing the length of at least one of the partitions; Means for determining a partition length of one of said partitions from received information of partition capacity, and means for recording a signal indicative of a length of at least one partition of said partitions in a predetermined data area. 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the means for determining the partition length of one of the partitions is based on G [K · U (1 + α) (1 + β)], where G is a group with the remaining digits raised. Is the group number of the result of dividing data (A) by the amount of data, K is a multiple when data is recorded several times, U is the number of frames in one group, α is the read margin after recording, and β is the stop margin Data recorder. The method according to claim 13, wherein α is (l + 1) P / (1 + P), where l is the number of frames that become useless when an error of data recorded in one frame is detected and the frame is rewritten. , P is the rate of occurrence of data errors on one tape, β is (m × b) / (N × T), where m is the number of stops occurring on one tape, and b is useless ( data recorder, where N is the rotational speed of the recording head and T is the duration of one tape.

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