WO2008072342A1

WO2008072342A1 - Drawing device and method, and computer program

Info

Publication number: WO2008072342A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/325062
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tetsuya Hayashi
Original assignee: Pioneer Corporation
Priority date: 2006-12-15
Filing date: 2006-12-15
Publication date: 2008-06-19

Abstract

A drawing device (1) is provided with a drawing means (13) that irradiates laser light to a label surface of a recording medium to draw a desired pattern on the label surface in accordance with a plurality of tracks of drawing data to compose the desired pattern and a moving means (12, 14) that moves a laser light irradiated position along the label surface up to a position corresponding to one of a plurality of the tracks. The drawing device is further provided with a specifying means (31, 32) that specifies a drawing termination bit to terminate the drawing of the one track in accordance with a proportion of drawing bits indicative of the irradiation of the laser light in a population comprised of a plurality of bits included in the drawing data to draw the one track, and a moving control means (31, 32) that controls the moving means so that the irradiated position is moved to a position corresponding to other tracks includes in a plurality of the tracks when the laser light is irradiated in accordance with the drawing termination bit to be specified.

Description

Drawing apparatus and method, and computer program

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a drawing apparatus and method for drawing a pattern such as a character, a figure, and an image on a label surface of a recording medium, and a technical field of a computer program.

Background art

[0002] Optical disks such as CDs and DVDs can easily record large amounts of data. Specific examples of data recorded on such an optical disc include software, computer applications, computer files, video data, music data, and the like. Such optical discs store data digitally. More specifically, by burning a minute area of an optical disk using high-intensity laser light (that is, changing the optical characteristics of the minute area), each such minute area has a pit corresponding to the data to be recorded. Make the pattern reflective or non-reflective. Thereby, data can be recorded on the optical disk.

[0003] In recent years, in such an optical disc, a user-desired pattern (for example, a desired image, character, figure, or the like) is formed on a label surface that is a surface opposite to a recording surface on which data is recorded. The act of drawing is frequently performed. A typical example is a simple act of drawing a desired pattern using a pen or the like, and an act of drawing a desired pattern using an ink jet printer.

[0004] On the other hand, as a technique for drawing a desired character, figure, or image, a dye film or the like is laminated on a label surface, and a laser beam is irradiated on the label surface (that is, the dye film). A technique for drawing an image on a label surface has been developed (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). According to this technology, since a desired pattern can be drawn on the label surface using a hardware configuration for recording data (specifically, an optical pick-up or the like), it is relatively easy to clean up. It is possible to draw simple images, characters, figures, etc. on the label surface.

Patent Document 1: US Patent Specification No. 6771297 Patent Document 2: JP 2006-511034 A

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0006] By the way, in the technique for drawing a desired pattern on the label surface as described above, there is a risk that the drawing time may be sacrificed (that is, the drawing time becomes longer) in order to ensure the drawing quality. For example, it takes a few minutes to tens of minutes to draw an entire optical disk, which is considerably longer than when data is recorded on the recording surface. Therefore, the issue is how to shorten the drawing time.

The present invention has been made in view of, for example, the above-described conventional problems, and in drawing a desired pattern on a label surface, a drawing apparatus capable of reducing drawing time while managing drawing quality It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer program for operating a computer as such a drawing apparatus.

Means for solving the problem

[0008] In order to solve the above-described problem, the drawing apparatus of the present invention irradiates a laser beam onto a label surface included in a recording medium in accordance with drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting a desired pattern. A drawing means for drawing a pattern on the label surface; and a moving means for moving the irradiation position of the irradiated laser light along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks; The one track is drawn on the basis of the ratio of the drawing bits indicating that the laser beam should be irradiated in the population composed of a plurality of bits included in the drawing data for drawing the one track. Specifying means for specifying a drawing end bit for ending the processing, and when the laser beam is irradiated according to the specified drawing end bit, the irradiation position And to move to a position corresponding to the other tracks included in said plurality of tracks, and a control unit that controls the moving means.

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the drawing method of the present invention irradiates a laser beam onto a label surface included in a recording medium in accordance with drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting a desired pattern. A drawing means for drawing a pattern on the label surface, and an irradiation position of the irradiated laser beam are included in the plurality of tracks along the label surface. A drawing method comprising a moving means for moving to a position corresponding to one track, wherein the drawing comprises a plurality of bits included in drawing data for drawing the one track. A specifying step of specifying a drawing end bit for ending drawing of the one track based on a ratio occupied by the drawing bit indicating that the laser light should be irradiated, and the specified drawing end A control step of controlling the moving means to move the irradiation position to a position corresponding to another track included in the plurality of tracks when the laser beam is irradiated according to the bit.

[0010] In order to solve the above-described problem, the computer program according to the present invention irradiates a laser beam on a label surface included in a recording medium according to drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting a desired pattern. A drawing means for drawing a pattern on the label surface; a moving means for moving the irradiation position of the irradiated laser beam along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks; Based on the proportion of the drawing bits that the laser beam should irradiate in the population composed of a plurality of bits included in the drawing data for drawing the one track, the one track is A specifying means for specifying a drawing end bit to end drawing, and the laser light is irradiated according to the specified drawing end bit And a control unit for controlling a computer included in the drawing apparatus, the control unit configured to control the moving unit so that the irradiation position is moved to a position corresponding to another track included in the plurality of tracks. The computer program causes the computer to function as at least the specifying means.

[0011] The operation and other advantages of the present invention will be made clear by the embodiments described below.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of a recording / reproducing apparatus in a first example.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a basic configuration (particularly, a feature data recording area 121) of an optical disc that is an operation target of the recording / reproducing apparatus in the first example.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a basic configuration (particularly, tracks 141, 142, 143) of an optical disc that is an operation target of the recording / reproducing apparatus in the first example.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart conceptually showing a flow of a drawing process according to the first example. FIG. 5 is a flowchart conceptually showing the flow of track drawing processing during drawing processing (a: comparative example, b: first embodiment).

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a time series of drawing data in a track drawing process (a: comparative example, b: first embodiment).

Explanation of symbols

1 'intelligence recording and playback device

11 Spinner motor

12 Optical pickup unit

13 Optical pickup

14 threads

15 Stepping motor

51 Encoder

52 Encoder controller

16 OPU controller

17 Stepping controller

18 Spindle / Re-controller

21 Data nodes

31 System controller

32 memory

41 Display

42 Input section

100 optical disc

110 Data recording layer

120 Label layer

121 Feature data recording area

122 Label area

1211, 1212, 1213

141, 142, 143 tracks BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, as the best mode for carrying out the invention, description will be given of an embodiment according to a drawing apparatus and method of the present invention and a computer program.

[Embodiment of Drawing Apparatus]

According to an embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention, the desired pattern is drawn on the label surface by irradiating a laser beam on the label surface of the recording medium according to the drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting the desired pattern. Drawing means, moving means for moving the irradiation position of the irradiated laser beam along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks, and drawing the one track The drawing of the one track is finished based on the proportion of the drawing bits that the laser beam should irradiate in the population composed of a plurality of bits included in the drawing data for When the laser beam is irradiated according to the specified drawing end bit, the specifying unit for specifying the drawing end bit of the plurality of drawing positions is set. To move to a position corresponding to the other tracks included in click, and a control means to control said moving means.

According to the embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention, as will be described in detail below, when drawing a desired pattern on the label surface, it is possible to reduce the drawing time while managing the drawing quality. Become.

[0017] When drawing a desired pattern on a label surface, drawing data (for example, bit map and data) of a plurality of tracks constituting the desired pattern is drawn by a drawing means (for example, an optical pickup having a semiconductor laser element, a lens, etc.). According to image data such as vector data), the label surface of the recording medium is irradiated with laser light. Specifically, the drawing means can move along the label surface, for example, in the radial direction of the recording medium (in other words, in the tracking direction). For example, a dye film is applied to the label surface, and the reflectance of the dye film in the portion irradiated with the laser light is different from the reflectance of the dye film in the portion where the laser light is irradiated. By using this, a desired pattern is drawn on the label surface.

[0018] The irradiation position of the irradiated laser beam is determined by moving means (for example, driven by a stepping motor). And an actuator provided in the optical pickup), the label is moved along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in a plurality of tracks. That is, the track search is performed by the moving means.

[0019] Here, before or during the drawing of one track, a drawing end bit for ending drawing of one track is given by the specifying means (for example, controller and memory). Identified. Specifically, a drawing bit (typically `` 1 '') indicating that a population composed of multiple bits included in drawing data for drawing one track should be irradiated with laser light. The drawing end bit is specified based on the ratio of Here, “the drawing end bit is specified” indicates that a logical or physical number or address indicating the drawing end bit is specified. Note that the “finish drawing of one track” indicated by this drawing end bit not only means literally, but also means that this one track is not drawn in the first place. It includes the meaning of skipping to the track where the data exists.

[0020] When the laser beam is irradiated in accordance with the drawing end bit specified as described above during drawing of one track, the moving means should end drawing of the one track. Is controlled by the control means (for example, controller and memory) as follows. In other words, the irradiation position can be moved to a position corresponding to another track included in a plurality of tracks. ,

If the drawing end bit as described above is in the case of drawing on a label surface that is not specified by the specifying means, the end of drawing cannot be determined when laser light starts to be drawn to draw one track. It is not possible to move on to the next track drawing process until one round of drawing is completed.

[0021] However, according to the embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention, as described above, the drawing end bit for ending drawing of one track is specified by the specifying means. In other words, without waiting until the whole circle has been drawn, it is possible to skip drawing the population and move to another track, so the drawing time can be shortened. In addition, the ratio based on specifying the drawing end bit is an index that determines how much to draw on this one track, in other words, how much to draw. Therefore, specifying the drawing end bit based on this ratio realizes a reduction in the drawing time, which is greater or less than the force S for managing the drawing quality.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention, when drawing a desired pattern on the label surface, it is possible to reduce the drawing time while managing the drawing quality, and to practice. Top is very effective.

[0023] According to one aspect of the drawing apparatus of the present invention, the population is followed when the laser beam starts to be emitted to draw the one track of the plurality of bits. On the basis of a bit, it is composed of bits after a predetermined bit included in the plurality of bits.

[0024] According to this aspect, first, as a premise, the laser beam is irradiated while rotating the recording medium. Therefore, which bit is included in the drawing data for drawing one track is the reference bit. The order in which each bit is drawn depends on whether it is a bit. Specifically, among the bits included in the drawing data for drawing one track, the bits before the reference bit are postponed. Under these assumptions, the drawing end bit is based on the proportion of drawing bits that indicate that laser light should be irradiated in a population (including bits that are postponed) composed of bits after a predetermined bit. Is identified. The drawing end bit is specified to be a more preferable position based on the mother group having such a configuration. In other words, as will be described later, the drawing time can be shortened without degrading the drawing quality compared to making all the bits included in the drawing data for drawing one track into the population, It is very effective in practice.

[0025] According to the aspect in which the population is configured as described above, the specifying unit may specify that the predetermined bit is the drawing end bit when the ratio is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio threshold. Good.

[0026] According to this aspect, when the proportion of the drawing bits (typically "1") in the population is equal to or less than the predetermined ratio threshold, the specifying unit determines that the predetermined bits are the drawing end bits. Specified. Here, the “predetermined percentage threshold” is a value that is determined in advance by an experiment 'experience' simulation as the upper limit of the percentage that is allowed for drawing quality without drawing according to the bits that make up the population. May be variable. Then, according to the predetermined bit When the laser beam is irradiated, the drawing of one track is completed without being irradiated with the laser beam according to the bit after that. Therefore, the drawing time can be shortened while managing the drawing quality based on the predetermined ratio threshold. For example, the lower the predetermined ratio threshold value, the more the drawing time can be shortened, and the more practically effective, without reducing the drawing quality as much as possible.

[0027] According to the aspect in which the predetermined ratio threshold value is the ratio threshold value as described above, the predetermined ratio threshold value may be zero.

[0028] According to this aspect, when the proportion of the drawn bits (typically "1") in the population is zero, specifically, the drawn bits are set to the bits after the predetermined bit. If there is no (for example, if the population is only “0”, such as “000000000”), this specified bit is specified as the drawing end bit. Accordingly, drawing of a population of bits after a predetermined bit is omitted, and the irradiation position is moved to a position corresponding to another track included in the plurality of tracks. At this time, since there is no drawing bit in the population where drawing is omitted, drawing quality does not deteriorate. Therefore, the drawing time can be shortened without degrading the drawing quality as compared with the case where all the bits included in the drawing data for drawing one track are made into a population, which is very effective in practice.

(Embodiment of Drawing Method)

The embodiment according to the drawing method of the present invention draws the desired pattern on the label surface by irradiating a laser beam on the label surface of the recording medium according to the drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting the desired pattern. A drawing method in a drawing apparatus, comprising: drawing means; and moving means for moving an irradiation position of the irradiated laser light along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks. Then, based on the ratio of the drawing bits to the effect that the laser beam should be irradiated in the population composed of a plurality of bits included in the drawing data for drawing the one track, the one track is A specific step of specifying a drawing end bit for ending drawing, and the laser beam is emitted according to the specified drawing end bit. When Isa, the pre-Symbol irradiation position, in so that is moved to a position corresponding to the other tracks included in said plurality of tracks, and a control step for controlling the moving means. The embodiment according to the drawing method of the present invention can enjoy the same effects as the various effects that can be enjoyed by the above-described embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention.

Incidentally, in response to the various aspects of the embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention described above, the embodiment of the drawing method of the present invention can also take various forms.

(Embodiment of computer program)

In the embodiment of the computer program of the present invention, the desired pattern is drawn on the label surface by irradiating the label surface of the recording medium with laser light according to the drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting the desired pattern. Drawing means, moving means for moving the irradiation position of the irradiated laser light along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks, and drawing the one track The drawing of the one track is finished based on the proportion of the drawing bits that the laser beam should irradiate in the population composed of a plurality of bits included in the drawing data to be written. A specifying means for specifying a drawing end bit, and when the laser beam is irradiated according to the specified drawing end bit, the irradiation position A computer program for controlling a computer provided in a drawing apparatus comprising control means for controlling the moving means so as to move to a position corresponding to another track included in the plurality of tracks, The program causes the computer to function as at least the specifying means.

[0033] According to the embodiment of the computer program of the present invention, the computer program is read into a computer and executed from a recording medium such as a ROM, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or hard disk that stores the computer program. If the computer program is executed after being downloaded to the computer via the communication means, the above-described embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention can be realized relatively easily.

Incidentally, in response to the various aspects of the embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention described above, the embodiment of the computer program of the present invention can also adopt various aspects.

[0035] Embodiments according to the computer program product of the present invention cause the computer to function as at least the specifying means. [0036] According to the embodiment of the computer program product of the present invention, if the computer program product is read into a computer from a recording medium such as a ROM, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or hard disk storing the computer program product. Alternatively, for example, if the computer program product, which is a transmission wave, is downloaded to a computer via communication means, the above-described embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention can be implemented relatively easily. More specifically, the computer program product may also be configured with a computer readable code (or computer readable instruction) force that functions as an embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention described above.

Incidentally, in response to the various aspects of the embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention described above, the embodiment of the computer program product of the present invention can also adopt various aspects.

[0038] These effects and other gains of the present embodiment will become more apparent from the examples described below.

[0039] As described above, according to the embodiment of the drawing apparatus of the present invention, the drawing unit, the moving unit, the specifying unit, and the control unit are provided. According to the embodiment of the drawing method of the present invention, the method includes a specific process and a control process. According to the embodiment of the computer program of the present invention, the computer is caused to function as at least the specifying means. Therefore, when drawing a desired pattern on the label surface, the drawing time can be shortened while ensuring the drawing quality.

Example

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the description will be given using a configuration in which the drawing apparatus of the present invention is applied to an information recording / reproducing apparatus for an optical disc.

[0041] (1) First Example

(1-1) Basic configuration

First, the basic configuration of each of the information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment and the optical disc to be operated by the information recording / reproducing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 conceptually shows the basic structure of the recording / reproducing apparatus in the first example. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the basic configuration (particularly, the characteristic data recording area 121) of the optical disc that is the target of the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus in the first example. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the basic configuration (particularly, tracks 141, 142, 143) of the optical disc that is the target of the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus in the first example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a spindle motor 11, an optical pickup (OPU) unit 12, an optical pickup 13, a thread 14, and a stepping. The motor 15, the encoder 51, the display unit 41, the input unit 42, the OPU controller 16, the stepping controller 17, the spinner controller 18, the system controller 31, and the memory 32 are provided.

The spindle motor 11 is a motor that rotates and stops the optical disc 100. More specifically, the spindle motor 11 is configured to rotate and stop the optical disc 100 at a predetermined speed while receiving a spindle servo under the control of the spindle controller 18.

The optical pickup unit 12 constitutes a specific example of the “drawing means” in the present invention, and is a casing that holds the optical pickup 13 and the thread 14.

The sled 14 constitutes one specific example of the “moving means” in the present invention, and moves in the radial direction of the optical disc 100 together with the optical pickup unit 12 upon receiving a driving force from the stepping motor 15.

The optical pickup 13 uses, for example, a semiconductor laser element, a collimator lens, a light receiving element, an objective lens, and a lens holder for the objective lens that are not shown in FIG. It is made up of a swingable actuator 131 and the like. Here, the actuator 131 constitutes one specific example of the “moving means” in the present invention. The position of the optical pickup 13 in the radial direction of the optical disk 100 is adjusted by the movement of the sled 14 by the stepping motor 15, and the position of the optical pickup 13 is further adjusted by the actuator 131 provided in the optical pickup unit 12. In other words, the position of the optical pickup 13 is determined by the movement of the sled 14 by the stepping motor 15, and then the irradiation position of the laser beam LB is determined by the actuator 131 that can move with higher resolution. At this time, in order to increase the movement accuracy of the thread 14, It is recommended to move using only the high two-phase movement position. Then, the optical pickup 13 irradiates the optical disc 100 with the laser beam LB at the first power as the reading light at the time of reproduction, and irradiates the recording light at the second power as the writing light at the time of recording. In addition, the optical pickup 13 irradiates the optical disc 100 with the laser beam LB when performing label drawing on the optical disc 100.

The stepping motor 15 constitutes one specific example of the “moving means” in the present invention, and the sled 14 is moved along the radial direction of the optical disc 100 according to the voltage applied by the stepping controller 17. Let

[0048] Under the control of the encoder controller 52, the encoder 51 irradiates the characteristic data recording area 121 (see FIG. 2) of the optical disc 100 with laser light and receives the reflected light by the light receiving element. As a result, the speed information and angle information of the optical disc 100 are acquired.

The display unit 41 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display or a plasma display, and functions as a user interface when performing label drawing.

[0050] The input unit 42 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a tablet-type display integrated with the display unit 41, and information for forming a desired pattern (for example, character, command, coordinate information) Various inputs such as are accepted. Accepted input is data bus

21, the desired pattern displayed on the display unit 41 is changed or the predetermined operation process is performed by the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 according to the content. .

[0051] The OPU controller 16 constitutes a specific example of the "moving means" in the present invention, and includes, for example, a laser diode driver and the like, and controls the irradiation operation of the laser light LB by the optical pickup 13. Specifically, the OPU controller 16 cooperates with the stepping controller 17, the spindle controller 18, and the encoder controller 52 under the control of the system controller 31, and the power, irradiation timing, and irradiation position of the laser beam LB. Etc. (in other words, the operation of the optical pickup 13) is controlled.

The stepping controller 17 constitutes a specific example of the “moving means” in the present invention, and controls the voltage to be applied to the stepping motor 15 to thereby control the stepping motor. The amount of movement of the thread 14 by the data 15 is controlled. Specifically, the stepping controller 17 controls the movement amount of the sled 14 (in other words, the operation of the stepping motor 15) in cooperation with the OPU controller 16 and the spindle controller 18 under the control of the system controller 31. Control.

The spindle controller 18 controls the rotation of the optical disc 100 by the spindle motor 11. Specifically, the spindle controller 18 operates in cooperation with the OPU controller 16 and the stepping controller 17 under the control of the system controller 31, and the rotation speed and rotation angle of the optical disk 100 (in other words, Controls spindle motor 11 operation).

[0054] The system controller 31 constitutes one specific example of the "control means" in the present invention, and includes a display unit 41, an input unit 42, an OPU controller 16, a stepping controller 17, a spindle controller 18, and a memory 32, The information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 as a whole is controlled by outputting control commands to the OPU controller 16, the stepping controller 17, and the spindle controller 18, which are connected via the data bus 21. Further, the system controller 31 displays a moving image (particularly, a desired pattern) based on the input information from the input unit 42 on the display unit 41 and stores the input information in the memory 32 as appropriate. Normally, software or firmware for operating the system controller 31 is stored in the memory 32.

[0055] The memory 32 temporarily stores a ROM area in which a program (ie, firmware) for operating the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is stored, and data used during the operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 Powered by the RAM area etc.

[0056] Incidentally, the optical disc 100 that is the target of the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a circular shape similar to a DVD, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, for example. A data recording layer 110 is laminated on one side, and a label layer 120 is laminated on the other side. The data recording layer 110 is irradiated with the laser beam LB from the lower side in FIG. 1 to record and reproduce data. On the other hand, the label layer 120 is drawn by irradiating the laser beam LB from the upper side in FIG. 1 (in fact, from the lower side in FIG. 1 with the optical disc 100 turned over). Done. [0057] The data recording layer 110 of the optical disc 100 is composed of, for example, a dye film or a phase change film whose characteristics (for example, reflection characteristics) are changed by irradiation with laser light LB. The data recording layer 110 is provided with a lead-in area, a user data area, and a lead-out area centering on a center hole 130 (see FIG. 2). In the data recording layer 110, for example, tracks such as a groove track and a land track are alternately provided in a spiral shape or a concentric shape around the center hole 130. On this track, data is divided and recorded in units of ECC blocks. The ECC block is a data management unit that can correct data errors.

On the other hand, the label layer 120 of the optical disc 100 is composed of a dye film whose characteristics (for example, reflection characteristics) are changed by irradiation with laser light LB, for example. The label layer 120 is not provided with the tracks described above, but may be provided with tracks. In particular, the label layer 120 is provided with a characteristic data recording area 121 on the innermost circumference side, and the label (that is, a specific example of the “desired pattern” in the present invention) is actually drawn. An area 122 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the feature data recording area 121.

In the feature data recording area 121, as shown in the enlarged view of the feature data recording area 121 shown on the lower side of FIG. 2, a rectangular pattern having high and light reflectivity and the high and light reflectivity are displayed. A pattern 1211 is formed in which rectangular patterns having the same size as the existing rectangular pattern and having a low light reflectance are regularly arranged. This pattern 1211 is read by the encoder 51. With this pattern 1211, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 can acquire information related to the speed (specifically, the angular speed or the rotational speed) of the optical disc 100 when the label is drawn on the label area 122. Thereby, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 can adjust or recognize the speed of the optical disc 100 at the time of label drawing on the label area 122.

[0060] Further, in the feature data recording area 121, as shown in the enlarged view of the feature data recording area 121 shown in the lower side of FIG. A pattern 1212 is formed by irregularly arranging rectangular patterns having. In particular, each of the rectangular pattern having a high reflectance and the rectangular pattern having a low reflectance has various sizes depending on the position where each rectangular pattern is formed. This According to the pattern 1212, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 causes the optical disc 100 to rotate in the angular direction (that is, in which direction the line extending from the center of the optical disc 100 toward a predetermined point around the disc indicates) Information about can be obtained. As a result, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 can adjust or recognize the angle of the optical disc 100 when the label is drawn on the label area 122.

In addition, the feature data recording area 121 has a sawtooth pattern having a high light reflectance and a high light reflectance, as shown in the enlarged view of the feature data recording area 121 shown at the bottom of FIG. A pattern 1213 is formed in which rectangular patterns arranged in a direction opposite to the sawtooth pattern and having a low light reflectance are regularly arranged. With this pattern 1213, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 can adjust the position of the optical pickup 13 in the radial direction of the optical disc 100 with high accuracy. In other words, the tracking accuracy of the optical pickup 13 by the actuator 131 can be adjusted.

More specifically, the tracking accuracy of the optical pickup unit 12 can be adjusted by the duty ratio of the reflected light of the laser beam LB irradiated to the pattern 1213. When a predetermined voltage is applied to the finisher 131, the amount of movement of the optical pickup 13 from the position where the duty ratio becomes 50% (that is, the center position in the radial direction of the pattern 1213) is detected based on the duty ratio. The This operation is repeated while changing the voltage applied to the actuator 131. Thereby, the correlation between the voltage applied to the actuator 131 and the amount of movement of the optical pickup 13 can be acquired. Thereafter, the position of the optical pickup 13 is adjusted at the time of label drawing on the label area 122 using the acquired correlation.

[0063] The pattern 1211 formed relatively on the inner periphery side is referred to as an inner ring, and the inner ring has, for example, a radial position on the optical disc 100 between 19.00 mm force and 21.15 mm. Formed in the area. On the other hand, patterns 1212 and 1213 formed on the outer peripheral side are called outer rings, and the outer ring is formed in an area where the radial position on the optical disc 100 is between 21.15 mm and 21.80 mm, for example. Has been. Each pattern formed in the characteristic data recording area 121 may be configured to draw a label in the label area 122 and be read by the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 in the meantime. The label area 122 may be read before drawing the label. Each of these patterns may be formed by a silk screen printing method or other methods.

[0064] In the label area 122, as shown in the upper side of FIG. 2, a label desired by the user (for example, a character, a figure, an image, or the like) can be drawn. This desired label is obtained as a so-called monochrome pattern by utilizing the difference between the reflectance of light in a minute region irradiated with laser light LB and the reflectance of light in a minute region not irradiated with laser light LB. Drawn.

As shown in the upper side of FIG. 3, the label drawn in the label area 122 is composed of a plurality of tracks (tracks 141, 142, 143...). In other words, by drawing a plurality of ring-shaped tracks in the order of tracks 141, 142, 143,... From the inside, for example, the entire label is drawn as a result. The positions 1410, 1420, and 1430 on each track are positions in which the optical disk 100 has the same angular direction. Each track is roughly drawn as follows. That is, when 30 awakening is set to 1 track, the lens position is sent to the inner circumference 150um by the actuator 131, moved 30um from there, moved 300um, and the lens moved to the outer circumference 150um position. 14 is moved by 300um, and the lens position is again sent to the inner circumference 150um by the actuator 131, and drawing is performed again.

As shown in the lower side of FIG. 3, the drawing data for drawing the tracks 141, 142, and 143 is, for example, “0 (value indicating that laser light is not irradiated)” or “1 (laser light). It is composed of 20 bits each having a value of “). For example, track 141 consists of bits with bitNo. (Bit number) from “1” to “20”, and track 142 consists of bits with bitNo. (Bit number) from “21” to “40”. The track 143 is composed of bits having bit No. (bit number) from “41” to “60”. According to these bits, laser light is appropriately irradiated, and a label desired by the user (for example, a character, a figure, an image, or the like) can be drawn.

[0067] (1-2) Principle of operation

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the operation (particularly, the drawing operation on the label layer 120) by the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. [0068] First, in addition to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a specific operation process of label drawing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart conceptually showing the flow of the drawing process according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 4, first, under the control of the system controller 31, the optical disc force loaded on the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is the optical disc 100 capable of label drawing by the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 (ie It is determined whether or not the optical disc 100 is in the embodiment described above (step S501).

[0070] If the result of determination in step S501 is that the optical disc force loaded on the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is not the optical disc 100 that can be labeled by the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1, (step S501: No) Thus, the operation from step S502 to step S507 described below is not performed, and the operation corresponding to the loaded optical disc is performed (step S108).

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S501, when it is determined that the optical disk loaded in the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is the optical disk 100 that can be labeled by the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 (step S501: Next, the spindle motor 11 is locked under the control of the spindle controller 18 (step S502). Specifically, the inner ring including the pattern 1211 described above is read, and the rotation speed of the spindle motor 11 (in other words, the rotation speed of the optical disc 100) is adjusted according to the reading result. Thereafter, the rotation speed of the spindle motor 11 is kept constant.

[0072] Subsequently, after the outer ring including the above-described patterns 1212 and 1213 is searched

(Step S503), the focus servo is turned ON (Step S504).

[0073] Thereafter, the tracking accuracy is adjusted using the outer ring searched in step S503 (step S505).

[0074] Thereafter, track 0, which is a position where drawing of a desired label on label area 122 is started, is searched (step S506). Since there is no physical track in the label layer 120, this track 0 is a force that is a virtual track. For example, the radial position on the optical disc 100 is at a position of 23.80 ± 0.03mm. .

[0075] After that, the location of the label area 122 is determined by the track drawing process described in detail below. The desired label is drawn (step S507).

Here, the above-described track drawing process will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 while comparing the comparative example and the present example. FIG. 5 is a flowchart conceptually showing the flow of the track drawing process during the drawing process (a: comparative example, b: first embodiment). FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a time series of drawing data in the track drawing process (a: comparative example, b: first embodiment). Note that the same step numbers are assigned to the same operation processes in the comparative example and the present embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

[0077] The comparison example and this embodiment differ depending on whether or not the drawing end bit is determined and the timing for searching for the next track is determined by this drawing end bit. This difference results in the drawing speed. It appears as a difference!

In the comparative example shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 6 (a), the track drawing process is performed as follows.

[0079] First, a track that is currently drawn (for example, track 141, track 142, or track 143. Hereinafter also referred to as "current track") is drawn bit by bit (step S11). ). In other words, the drawing data shown in FIG. 6 (a) is stored in the bit numbers “1”, “2”, “3”, etc. according to the angular direction and rotational speed of the optical disc 100. Laser light LB is emitted according to the value of “1”.

Here, whether or not the current track has been drawn once is determined based on the force drawing data or based on the angular direction of the optical disc 100 (step S 12). For example, when the current track is track 141, the determination is made based on whether or not the bit number of the bit drawn in step S11 is “20”.

[0081] If it is determined that the current track has not been drawn once (step S12: NO), for example, if the bit number is still "10", the process returns to step S11 again, and the next bit The laser beam LB is irradiated according to the value of.

[0082] On the other hand, if it is determined that the current track has been drawn once (step S12: YES), the force that the current track is the last track, ie, there are no more tracks to be drawn. Is determined (step S13).

[0083] If it is determined that the current track is not the last track (step S13: NO), immediately The next track on the outer circumference (for example, track 142) is searched (Step S

14). This search requires a predetermined time (for example, the time corresponding to drawing 5 bits in FIG. 6A). When the next track is searched, the process returns to step S11 again, and the track is drawn as the current track.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the current track is the last track (step S13: YES), the track drawing process is terminated.

[0085] As described above, according to the comparative example, although drawing of the label is possible, in step S12, it is necessary to wait until it is determined that the current track has been drawn once.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 (b) and 6 (b), the track drawing process is performed as follows.

First, the following processing is performed to specify the drawing end bit of the current track (for example, track 144, track 142, or track 143), which is a specific example of “one track” in the present invention. Done (step S20). Specifically, the bit that is followed when the laser beam LB starts to be irradiated in the current track is used as a reference bit, and a bit after a predetermined bit in a sequence of a plurality of bits included in the drawing data of the current track is set to “ 1 ”is not stored (or about 1 or 2 bits even if it is stored. That is, the“ predetermined ratio threshold ”according to the present invention is zero, or extremely small! ) Among the “predetermined bits” that satisfy the condition t, the one that precedes as much as possible is specified as the drawing end bit. In FIG. 6B, when the current track is track 141, the reference bit is the bit with the bit number “1”, and the predetermined bit is the bit with the bit number “14”. Alternatively, if the current track is track 142, the reference bit is the bit with bit number “35” and the predetermined bit is the bit with bit number “34”. Oh!ヽ When the current track is track 143, the reference bit is the bit of bit number “60”, and the predetermined bit is the bit of bit number “54”. If the current track is track 141, the drawing time will be shortened to a greater or lesser extent even if the predetermined bit is the bit with bit number “15” or “16”. Drawing time is shortened. The specified bit specified in this way is a bit in front of the start position where a bit storing “0” appears continuously until the end of the current track in the current track (that is, a drawing end bit). It can also be said. [0088] Subsequently, the track force currently being drawn is drawn bit by bit (step S11).

o) At this time, it is determined whether or not the bit drawn in step S11 is the drawing end bit specified in advance in step S20 (step S22).

[0089] Here, when it is determined that the bit drawn in step S11 is not the drawing end bit

(Step S22: NO), return to Step S11 again, and laser light L according to the value of the next bit

B is irradiated.

[0090] On the other hand, if it is determined that the bit drawn in step SI 1 is the drawing end bit (step S22: YES), even if the current track has not been drawn once, the drawing data of the current track Since “1” is not stored after that, drawing of the current track is finished.

[0091] After that, as in the comparative example, it is determined whether or not the current track is the last track (step S13). If it is determined that the current track is not the last track (step S13: NO), the The next track on the circumferential side (a specific example of “another track” in the present invention) is searched (step S 14).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the current track is the last track (step S13: YES), the track drawing process is terminated.

As described above, according to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 in the embodiment, since the drawing end bit is specified, even if the current track has not been drawn once, the drawing quality is not or little. You can skip the subsequent drawing without dropping it and move to the next track. Therefore, in drawing a label, drawing time can be shortened while ensuring drawing quality, which is very effective in practice.

In the above-described embodiments, the description has been made assuming the light scribing technique. However, in the various applications such as the label drawing technique (for example, label flash, DiscT @ 2), the above-described example has been described. It goes without saying that the effects described above can be enjoyed by adopting the configuration.

[0095] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be appropriately changed within the scope of the claims and the entire specification without departing from the gist or concept of the invention which can be read. A drawing apparatus and method, and a computer program are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Industrial applicability

The drawing apparatus and method and the computer program according to the present invention can be used for an information recording apparatus such as a DVD recorder capable of drawing a pattern such as a character, a figure, or an image on a label surface of a recording medium such as a DVD. . Further, the present invention can also be used for an information recording device or the like that is mounted on or connectable to various computer equipment for consumer use or business use.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A drawing means for drawing the desired pattern on the label surface by irradiating a laser beam onto the label surface of the recording medium according to the drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting the desired pattern;

Moving means for moving the irradiation position of the irradiated laser light along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks;

Based on the proportion of drawing bits to the effect that the laser beam should be irradiated to a population composed of a plurality of bits included in drawing data for drawing the one track! A specific means for specifying a drawing end bit for ending drawing of the one track;

Control means for controlling the moving means to move the irradiation position to a position corresponding to another track included in the plurality of tracks when the laser beam is irradiated according to the specified drawing end bit. When

A drawing apparatus comprising:

[2] The population includes, as a reference bit, a bit that is followed when the laser beam starts to be emitted in order to draw the one track among the plurality of bits, based on a predetermined bit included in the plurality of bits. Also consists of the later bits

The drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

[3] The specifying unit specifies that the predetermined bit is the drawing end bit when the ratio is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio threshold.

The drawing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

[4] The predetermined percentage threshold is zero

The drawing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

[5] Drawing means for drawing the desired pattern on the label surface by irradiating the label surface of the recording medium with laser light in accordance with drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting the desired pattern, and the irradiation A drawing method in a drawing apparatus comprising: a moving means for moving a laser beam irradiation position along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks, Based on the proportion of drawing bits to the effect that the laser beam should be irradiated to a population composed of a plurality of bits included in drawing data for drawing the one track! A specific process for specifying a drawing end bit to end drawing of the one track;

When the laser beam is irradiated according to the specified drawing end bit, a control step of controlling the moving means so as to move the irradiation position to a position corresponding to another track included in the plurality of tracks. When

A drawing method comprising:

According to drawing data of a plurality of tracks constituting a desired pattern, a laser beam is irradiated on a label surface included in the recording medium, whereby a drawing unit for drawing the desired pattern on the label surface; A moving means for moving an irradiation position along the label surface to a position corresponding to one track included in the plurality of tracks, and a plurality of bits included in drawing data for drawing the one track. A specifying means for specifying a drawing end bit for ending drawing of the one track, based on a ratio of the drawing bit indicating that the laser beam should be irradiated in a population of When the laser beam is irradiated according to the drawing end bit, the irradiation position corresponds to another track included in the plurality of tracks. Uni I moved to that position, there is provided a computer program for controlling the Konbiyu data provided to the rendering device and a control means for controlling said moving means,

The computer program causes the computer to function as at least the specifying means.