INFORMATION RECORDING APPARATUS, NON-CONTACT RECORDING MEDIUM AND RECORDING METHOD FOR THE SAME

• US 20070154162A1
• Filed: 11/02/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shimosato, Tsutomu, Kato, Tetsuro, Sawai, Jun, Ando, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 7,995,119 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence

Abstract

An information recording apparatus with a capability of recording information to a plurality of non-contact recording media within a communicable range of the apparatus body, the apparatus including: a medium loading portion into which a non-contact recording medium is removably loaded; a medium detector configured to detect that a non-contact recording medium has been loaded in the medium loading portion; a first antenna for sending and receiving information to and from the non-contact recording medium loaded in the medium loading portion; a second antenna for sending and receiving information to and from the non-contact recording medium removed from the medium loading portion; and antenna switch for switching between the first antenna and the second antenna according to the detection output from the medium detector.

Claims

1. An information recording apparatus with a capability of recording information to a plurality of non-contact recording media within a communicable range of the apparatus body, the apparatus comprising:

a medium loading portion into which a non-contact recording medium is removably loaded;

a medium detector configured to detect that a non-contact recording medium has been loaded in the medium loading portion;

a first antenna for sending and receiving information to and from the non-contact recording medium loaded in the medium loading portion;

a second antenna for sending and receiving information to and from the non-contact recording medium removed from the medium loading portion;

an antenna switch configured to switch between the first antenna and the second antenna according to the detection output from the medium detector; and

a communication unit configured to communicate with the non-contact recording medium using the first antenna or the second antenna via the antenna switch,

wherein by communicating with the non-contact recording medium using the first antenna or the second antenna via the antenna switch, the non-contact recording medium loaded in the apparatus body is authenticated and provided with identification information via the first antenna, while for non-contact recording media removed from the apparatus body, at least one non-contact recording medium is selected from a plurality of non-contact recording media within a communicable range of the second antenna based on the provided identification information so as to record/reproduce or delete information.

2. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medium loading portion is configured such that only one non-contact recording medium can be removably loaded within a communicable range of the first antenna.

3. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit selects multiple non-contact recording media from a plurality of non-contact recording media within a communicable range of the second antenna based on the identification information so as to simultaneously record/reproduce or delete information.

4. A non-contact recording medium to which information is recorded using an information recording apparatus with a capability of recording information to a plurality of non-contact recording media within a communicable range of the apparatus body, the non-contact recording medium comprising:

a loading detector configured to detect that the non-contact recording medium has been loaded in a medium loading portion of the information recording apparatus;

a first antenna that allows the non-contact recording medium loaded in the medium loading portion to send and receive information to and from the information recording apparatus;

a second antenna that allows the non-contact recording medium removed from the medium loading portion to send and receive information to and from the information recording apparatus;

an antenna switch configured to switch between the first antenna and the second antenna according to the detection output from the loading detector;

a communication unit configured to communicate with the information recording apparatus using the first antenna or the second antenna via the antenna switch;

an identification information storing unit configured to store identification information provided from the information recording apparatus in an authentication process during communication between the non-contact recording medium loaded in the medium loading portion and the information recording apparatus via the first antenna using the communication unit; and

an information storing unit configured to record/reproduce or delete information to, from or in the non-contact recording medium selected based on the identification information provided from the information recording apparatus during communication between the non-contact recording medium removed from the medium loading portion and the information recording apparatus via the second antenna using the communication unit.

5. A recording method for a non-contact recording medium to which information is recorded using an information recording apparatus with a capability of recording information to a plurality of non-contact recording media within a communicable range of the apparatus body, the method comprising the steps of:

determining whether or not a non-contact recording medium has been loaded in the information recording apparatus and switching between a first antenna switch for proximity-range communication and a second antenna for short-range communication according to the determination result;

storing identification information in an identification information storing unit in the non-contact recording medium loaded in the information recording apparatus, the identification information provided from the information recording apparatus in an authentication process; and

recording/reproducing or deleting information to, from or in an information storing unit in the non-contact recording medium removed from the information recording apparatus, the non-contact recording medium selected based on the identification information provided from the information recording apparatus during communication between the non-contact recording medium and the information recording apparatus.