File management method, content recording/playback apparatus and content recording program

• US 20020073105A1
• Filed: 12/07/2001
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hiroyuki, Sato, Mitsuhiro, Shimojima, Takashi, Noguchi, Naohiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,003,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A package management information recording section 131 creates and records on a recording medium 120 package management information for managing packages recorded on the recording medium 120. A content file recording section 132 records on the recording medium 120 content files of content file groups included in packages, and also creates and records on the recording medium 120 content file group management information for managing these content file groups. A content/metadata correspondence information recording section 133 creates and records on the recording medium 120 information on correspondence between content files and metadata files within a package or correspondence between a package itself and metadata files. By this means, the correspondence between content files and metadata files can always be maintained correctly when they are recorded separately.

Claims

1. A file management method for recording on a recording medium and managing a distributed object and metadata file, wherein correspondence between an identifier of a metadata file and an identifier of an object corresponding to that metadata file is managed by means of a metadata correspondence management file.

2. The file management method according to claim 1, being a file management method for managing said object and metadata file on said recording medium by means of a directory structure, wherein a record type indicating a placement location of said metadata correspondence management file within said directory structure is provided in said metadata correspondence management file.

3. The file management method according to claim 2, being a file management method for creating and managing a service directory for each service by which said object is distributed, wherein said record type indicates that said metadata correspondence management file is placed under said service directory.

4. The file management method according to claim 2, being a file management method for recording on said recording medium a package directory for each package file with at least one content, wherein said record type indicates that said metadata correspondence management file is placed under said package directory.

5. The file management method according to claim 4, wherein said record type indicates a distinction as to whether a metadata file included in said metadata correspondence management file corresponds to a package or corresponds to a service.

6. The file management method according to claim 4, wherein said record type indicates a distinction as to whether a metadata file included in said metadata correspondence management file corresponds to a package file or corresponds to content contained in a package file.

7. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein said metadata correspondence management file indicates a one-to-one relationship between one object identifier and one metadata file identifier.

8. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein said metadata correspondence management file indicates a multiple-to-one relationship between a plurality of object identifiers and one metadata file identifier.

9. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein said metadata correspondence management file indicates a one-to-multiple relationship between one object identifier and a plurality of metadata file identifiers.

10. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein said metadata correspondence management file indicates a multiple-to-multiple relationship between a plurality of object identifiers and a plurality of metadata file identifiers.

11. A file management method comprising the steps of:

creating a directory for each package when said object is said package file;

recording on the basis of said directory a content file contained in the relevant package and a metadata file corresponding to that content;

managing with a package management file correspondence between a directory name of said directory and a package identifier assigned to said package;

managing with a content file group management file correspondence between a file name when said content file and said metadata file are recorded on said recording medium and an identifier of said content and metadata; and

managing with the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 correspondence between an identifier of a content file contained in said package and an identifier of a metadata file corresponding thereto.

12. A file management method comprising the steps of:

creating a directory for each service when content is distributed in package units in which related content is collected;

on the basis of said directory, creating a subdirectory for each package distributed from the relevant service and also recording a metadata file corresponding to the relevant package;

managing with a package management file correspondence between a directory name of said subdirectory and a package identifier assigned to said package;

on the basis of said subdirectory, recording a file of content contained in the relevant package, and a file of metadata corresponding to the relevant content;

managing with a content file group management file correspondence between a file name when said content file and said metadata file are recorded on said recording medium and an identifier of the relevant content and metadata;

managing with a service management file correspondence between a directory name of said directory and a service identifier assigned to said service;

managing with a metadata file group management file correspondence between a file name when said metadata file is recorded on said recording medium and an identifier of the relevant metadata; and

managing with the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 correspondence between said service identifier and an identifier of said metadata file corresponding thereto, correspondence between an identifier of said package and an identifier of said metadata file corresponding thereto, and correspondence between an identifier of said content file and an identifier of said metadata file corresponding thereto.

13. A content recording apparatus comprising:

data recording means for recording a distributed object and metadata file on a recording medium; and

metadata correspondence information recording means for creating and recording on said recording medium the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 indicating correspondence between said object and said metadata file.

14. The content recording apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising, when content is distributed in package units in which related content is collected:

service management information recording means for creating a directory corresponding to each service, and creating and recording on said recording medium a service management file indicating correspondence between a directory name of said directory and a service identifier assigned to said service; and

package metadata file recording means for assigning a file name to and recording on said recording medium a metadata file corresponding to a service to which a metadata file corresponding to said package or the relevant package belongs, and also creating and recording on said recording medium a metadata file group management file indicating correspondence between a file name of said file and an identifier of said file.

15. A content playback apparatus that plays back content from a recording medium on which a distributed content file and file management information are recorded, comprising metadata correspondence resolution means for using the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 containing correspondence between an identifier of said content file and an identifier of a metadata file corresponding thereto and acquiring a metadata file corresponding to a content file.

16. The content playback apparatus according to claim 15 that, when content is distributed in package units in which related content is collected, using the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 containing correspondence between an identifier of said package and an identifier of a metadata file corresponding thereto, acquires a metadata file corresponding to said package.

17. A content playback apparatus comprising metadata correspondence resolution means for, when content is played back from a recording medium on which are recorded files of content distributed from a plurality of services and file management information, using as said file management information a service management file indicating correspondence between a directory name for each service and a service identifier assigned to said service, a metadata file group management file indicating correspondence between a file name of a file of metadata corresponding to said service and an identifier of the relevant metadata, and the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 containing correspondence between an identifier of said service and an identifier of a metadata file corresponding thereto and correspondence between an identifier of a content file and an identifier of a file of metadata corresponding thereto, and acquiring respective metadata files corresponding to a content file and corresponding to a service.

18. The content playback apparatus according to claim 17 that, when content is distributed in package units in which related content is collected, using the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 containing correspondence between an identifier of said package and an identifier of a metadata file corresponding thereto, acquires a metadata file corresponding to said package.

19. A content recording program for causing a computer to function as:

data recording means for recording a distributed object and metadata file on a recording medium; and

metadata correspondence information recording means for creating and recording on said recording medium a metadata correspondence management file that manages correspondence between an identifier of a metadata file and an identifier of an object corresponding to the relevant metadata file.