WO2002013197A1

WO2002013197A1 - Integrated device for reading digital recording supports, such as dvd disks and similar

Info

Publication number: WO2002013197A1
Application number: PCT/IB2000/001905
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giuliano Macripo'
Original assignee: Macripo Giuliano
Priority date: 2000-08-04
Filing date: 2000-12-19
Publication date: 2002-02-14
Also published as: IT1315115B1; AU2001218773A1; ITUD20000149A0; ITUD20000149A1

Abstract

Integrated device for reading digital recording supports, for example of the type such as DVD disks (11), comprising at least a block (20) of components able to constitute the system of motorized drive, reading, data processing, timing and feed, comprising at least a first conversion and processing block (26) suitable to read, transform and process the information contained in said DVD support (11) to allow them to be reproduced in the form of sounds and images, and at least a second block (40) comprising at least a communication component (41) to transmit data, said second block (40) being associated at least with an interface (42) to communicate with an outside door (43) of a Personal Computer.

Description

"INTEGRATED DEVICE FOR READING DIGITAL RECORDING SUPPORTS, SUCH AS DVD DISKS AND SIMILAR"

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns an integrated device for reading digital recording supports, such as for example optical disks of the DVD type (Digital Video Disk, or Digital Versatile Disk, as they have recently been re-named) .

To be more exact, the invention concerns a unified reading device which allows an alternate connection either to a Personal Computer, to read data or programs, or to an audio/video reproducer, of the type known as Stand-alone, to listen to music, watch a film, play interactive games and other . In the following description we shall refer specifically to the application for DVD-type digital recording supports; this application must not be considered restrictive, however, since the teaching can be extended to other types of support such as for example optical disks, hard disks, VCD supports, SVCD supports, flash memories, and more generally to any optical, magneto-optical or magnetic type support used for the digital memorization of data and information, and which can be employed both for simple reading of memorized data and for reading/writing of said data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION DVDs are supports which allow to store a very high quantity of information of a digital type, with a memory capacity which can even reach 18 GigaBytes, that is, 27 times the content of normal CDs used at present.

Thanks to this capacity, DVDs can be used as a support for many different applications; they can be used like CD-ROMs in association with Personal Computers for data and programs, or like Audio CDs to reproduce music, or to reproduce films with a relative soundtrack as a replacement for normal VHS cassettes .

DVDs currently allow to record up to 8 hours of audio/video; they also allow to exploit all the potential of digital recording, for example multi-lingual reproduction, multi-channel audio, sub-titles, additional information, options, etc.

At present, there are specific devices to read DVDs containing data installed inside Personal Computers, and equipped with suitable DAC Audio outlets and IDE/ATAPI or SCASI doors for the transmission of data.

On the contrary, to read DVDs containing music, images, films, games or suchlike, external reproducing devices are used, called Stand-alone; they can be connected to any television, video player or video recorder, for example by means of the relative Scart sockets, or to stereo systems, or Dolby surround processors, to reproduce music and sounds faithfully. Currently then, the two different uses of DVD readers are distinct and incompatible; it is not therefore possible to use an integrated and unified reading system which can be connected alternately to a Personal Computer or a device to reproduce images and sounds, such as a television or a stereo system. This is an operational and practical limit to a complete exploitation of the enormous potential of this type of support.

The present Applicant has devised, tested and embodied this invention to overcome this shortcoming of the state of the art, and to obtain further advantages as shown hereafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is set forth and characterized in the main claim, while other characteristics of the main embodiment are described in the dependent claims .

The purpose of the invention is to achieve an integrated reading device for digital recording supports, such as for example disks of the DVD type, which will allow them to be connected alternately to a Personal Computer or a device to reproduce images and/or sounds, such as any television, stereo system or a similar or comparable instrument.

Digital recording support should be taken to mean every type of support able to memorize data and information to allow them to be read and/or modified.

The integrated reading device according to the invention comprises the usual components of movement, laser reading, timing (clock) , processing and feed, which are in conventional DVD type readers, whether for installation in a PC or for use in a Stand-alone reproducer.

A first block, of a substantially conventional type, is associated with said base components and comprises the components present in a normal DVD video/audio reproducer, to manage, process and reproduce images.

According to the invention, the reading device also comprises a second block, of a substantially conventional type and normally integrated into reading devices for DVD installed in Personal Computers . A third conversion block is associated serially with said second block, and is able to connect , by means of an outside connection, the second block with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) door of the Personal Computer.

By means of this configuration, therefore, the integrated reading device according to the invention can be selectively connected, alternately, either to the Personal Computer, to transfer and read data and programs, by means of an outside connection through the USB door of the PC, or to a television or stereo system, by means of a conventional connection to a Scart socket or similar.

In this way, the user can use a single reading and reproduction instrument, and alternate one connection or the other in a practical and substantially immediate fashion, in order to exploit a single digital recording support of the DVD type to read data or programs and to see, for example, a film, to play an interactive game or to listen to music from a stereo system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

These and other characteristics of the invention will become clear from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given with reference to the attached drawing (Fig. 1) , which shows a block diagram representing the integrated reading device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERENTIAL EMBODIMENT With reference to the attached drawing, an integrated reading device for DVD disks 11 is denoted generally by the reference number 10.

Even if the device 10 is shown hereafter with reference to the specific case of an application for a DVD support, it is understood that the device can also be applied to different supports, such as optical disks, hard disks, VCD or SVCD supports, or more generally to any optical, magneto-optical or magnetic support able to memorize digital data and information and allow them to be read and/or modified.

The device 10 consists of a plurality of substantially traditional components, identified in their entirety by the block 20, which make up the system of motorized drive, reading, data processing, timing, feed, etc.

To be more exact, the components comprise at least an assembly 12 to house and mechanically support the DVD disk 11, associated with a reading laser diode 13 connected to an RF pre-amplifier 14.

The assembly 12 is commanded by a DVD driver 15 which in turn is governed by the commands of a driver 16 of the drive shaft of the assembly 12.

The block 20 also comprises a feeder 17, a timer 18, a system micro-controller 19 and command block 21, comprising a CD CIRC 22, a DVD decoder 23, a signal processor 24 and a servo-command assembly 25. A conversion and processing block 26, of the type normally included in Stand-alone reproducers, is integrated according to the invention with said block 20, and is suitable to read, transform and process the information contained in the DVD support 11 and to reproduce said information in the form of images, sounds or other.

The block 26 comprises, in its essential parts, a remote control component 27 connected to the system microcontroller 19, and an MPEG demultiplexer 28, connected to the signal processor 24, which commands both an MPEG2 video decoder 29 and also an MPEG AC3 audio decoder 30.

In turn, the video decoder 29 is connected to an NTSC/PAL encoder 31 associated with a driver 32 which commands the video socket 33 which can be connected to the corresponding socket in a television, while the audio decoder 30 is connected to an Audio DAC block 34 which commands both he audio socket 35, which can be connected to the corresponding socket in a television or a stereo system, and an outlet for headphones 36 through an amplifier 37.

The device 10 also comprises a second block 40, normally included in the reading devices inside Personal Computers, comprising at least a DAC audio door 38 to manage the sound through the audio door 39 of the PC and an IDE/ATAPI or SCASI door 41 to transmit data. According to the main characteristic of the invention, the door 41 is serially connected with a conversion interface 42 which is suitable to convert the signals of the IDE/ATAPI

(or SCASI) communication standard, usually used for communicating and transmitting data inside the PC, to a USB communication standard.

By means of this conversion performed by the interface 42, the reading device 10 is thus able to be connected to an outside door 43 of any PC whatsoever, thus making it possible, at any moment, to connect the reading device 10 alternately with a PC or a television.

According to a variant which is not shown here, the door

41 and the interface 42 are integrated into a single component suitable to convert the data memorized in the disk 11 into a communication standard compatible with the

Personal Computer.

With the integrated reading device 10 according to the invention, the same DVD support can be used by means of the same reader both to read and transmit data and programs, and also to reproduce sounds and images faithfully.

It is obvious that a plurality of modifications and additions may be made to the invention, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

The components cited in the preferential embodiment described could be different, or some of them could be omitted, or other components could be included which are not cited, in order to perform auxiliary or alternative functions.

In the case where the invention is applied to digital recording supports other than DVD, it is understood that some components may be different from those shown in the attached Figure, particularly with regard to the drive system identified by the block 20; however, it comes within the field of knowledge of a skilled person to adapt the teaching of the invention to applications similar and equivalent to the one shown here .

Claims

1 - Integrated device for reading digital recording supports, for example of the type such as DVD disks (11) , comprising at least a block (20) of components able to constitute the system of motorized drive, reading, data processing, timing and feed, characterized in that it comprises at least a first conversion and processing block

(26) suitable to read, transform and process the information contained in said support (11) to allow them to be reproduced in the form of sounds and images, and at least a second block (40) comprising at least a communication component (41) to transmit data, said second block (40) being associated with at least an interface (42) to communicate with an outside door (43) of a Personal Computer .

2 - Device as in Claim 1, characterized in that said communication component (41) is an IDE/ATAPI door.

3 - Device as in Claim 1, characterized in that said communication component (41) is a SCASI door. 4 - Device as in Claim 1, characterized in that said communication component (41) and said interface (42) are integrated into a single component.

5 - Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said interface (42) is predisposed to convert from the IDE/ATAPI communication standard to the USB communication standard.

6 - Device as in any claim from 1 to 3 inclusive, characterized in that said interface (42) is predisposed to convert from the SCASI communication standard to the USB communication standard.

7 - Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said second block (40) comprises at least a DAC audio door to manage the sound through the audio door (39) of a Personal Computer.

8 - Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it is able to be connected, alternately and selectively, with a Personal Computer or a reproducer of images and/or sounds, such as a television, a video player, a stereo system, a Dolby Surround plant.

9 - Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said digital recording supports comprise optical disks, hard disks, DVD, VCD or SVCD supports, or more generally any optical, magneto-optical or magnetic support able to memorize digital data and information and allow them to be read and/or modified.