Portable apparatus having head retracting function and head retracting method

• US 20050270700A1
• Filed: 06/03/2005
• Published: 12/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Kissei
• Granted Patent: US 7,190,540 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 360/261
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 31/003 with radio receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/54 with provision for moving the head into or out of its operative position or across tracks

Abstract

A portable apparatus for reproducing audio data includes a recording medium on which the audio data is recorded, a reading head for reading the audio data from the recording medium, an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration, a buffer memory from which the audio data is read after the audio data is once stored therein; and a processor for executing control of retracting the head from the recording medium in a case where a predetermined value of acceleration is detected by the acceleration sensor when the audio data is temporarily stored into the buffer memory from the recording medium.

Claims

1. A portable apparatus for reproducing audio data, comprising:

a recording medium on which the audio data is recorded;

a reading head for reading the audio data from said recording medium;

an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration;

a buffer memory from which the audio data is read after the audio data is once stored therein; and

a processor for executing control of retracting said head from said recording medium in a case where a predetermined value of acceleration is detected by said acceleration sensor when the audio data is temporarily stored into said buffer memory from said recording medium.

2. The portable apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a retraction portion where said head is moved when reading of audio data is not performed,

wherein said processor retracts said head to said retraction portion when said acceleration sensor detects the predetermined value of acceleration.

3. The portable apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said retraction portion is located on an outside of said recording medium.

4. The portable apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a power supply circuit for supplying power supply to said portable apparatus, wherein

said recording medium and said head constitute a drive, and

said processor interrupts power supply from said power supply circuit to sad drive in a case where the predetermined value of acceleration is detected by said acceleration sensor when the audio data is temporarily stored in said buffer memory from said recording medium.

5. The portable apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an output unit for outputting the audio data read from said buffer memory, wherein

said processor retracts said head from said recording medium and outputs the audio data to said output unit from said buffer memory in a case where the predetermined value of acceleration is detected by said acceleration sensor when the audio data is temporarily stored in said buffer memory from said recording medium.

6. A portable apparatus for reproducing audio data, comprising:

a recording medium on which the audio data is recorded;

a reading head for reading the audio data from said recording medium;

an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration in three axis directions;

a buffer memory from which the audio data is read after the audio data is once stored therein; and

a processor for calculating a synthesized value of acceleration vectors from acceleration in each direction of the three axis directions, the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensor, to retract said head from said recording medium in a case where said processor judges a drop on the basis of values indicating variations of the acceleration in each direction of the three axis directions and a value indicating a variation of the synthesized value during a predetermined period when the audio data is temporarily stored into said buffer memory from said recording medium.

7. The portable apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said processor judges a drop to retract said head from said recording medium when a variation value of the acceleration in any one direction of the three axes is detected during a predetermined period.

8. The portable apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said processor calculates the synthesized value of the acceleration vectors from the acceleration in each direction of the three axes, the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensor, and said processor detects a drop on the basis of a variation value of the synthesized value during a predetermined period in a case where the synthesized value is not within a predetermined range in a neighborhood of 1 G, and detects the drop on the basis of the variation value of the synthesized value and variation values of acceleration in each axis direction during the predetermined period in a case where the synthesized value is within the predetermined range in the neighborhood of 1 G when the audio data is stored in said buffer memory from said recording medium, and thereby said processor retracts said head from said recording medium.

9. A head retracting method in a portable apparatus for reading audio data recorded on a recording medium with a head to read the read audio data after storing the audio data in a buffer memory temporarily, said method comprising:

an acceleration detecting step of detecting acceleration with an acceleration sensor when the audio data is temporarily stored in said buffer memory from said recording medium;

a judging step of judging whether the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensor has a predetermined value or not; and

a retracting step of retracting said head from said recording medium when the acceleration is judged to have the predetermined value.

10. A head retracting method in a portable apparatus equipped with an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration, said portable apparatus reading audio data recorded on a recording medium with a head to read the read audio data after storing the audio data in a buffer memory temporarily, said method comprising:

a synthesized value calculating step of calculating a synthesized value of acceleration vectors from the acceleration in each direction of three axes, the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensor;

a variation ascertaining step for ascertaining a value indicating a variation of the acceleration in each direction of said three axes and a value indicating a variation of the synthesized value during a predetermined period when the audio data is temporarily stored in said buffer memory from said recording medium;

a drop judging step of judging a drop on the basis of the variation of the acceleration in each direction and the variation of the synthesized value; and

a head retracting step of retracting said head from said recording medium in case of judging the drop.