Recording and/or reproducing apparatus adapted to minimize electrical energy consumption

• US 5,005,088 A
• Filed: 01/08/1990
• Issued: 04/02/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Takdea, Osamu, Fukushima, Nobuo, Suzuki, Yasutomo, Sakai, Shinji, Takei, Masahiro, Jinnai, Shigeru, Okino, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wolff, John H.
• Application Number:
  US07/462,102
• Time in Patent Office: 449 Days
• Field of Search: 360/69, 360/70-71, 360/72.1
• US Class Current: 360/69
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/035 Positioning by moving the loading station
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/10 by sensing presence or absence of record in accessible stored position or on turntable
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/12 by sensing distinguishing features of or on records, e.g. diameter end mark
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/165 by closing the cover

Abstract

A recording and/or reproducing apparatus arranged to permit an interchange of record bearing media and selection between recording and reproducing modes of operation on the medium comprises look-up device for looking up the presence or absence of an existing record in each recording or reproducing position on the record bearing medium loaded on the apparatus, and control device arranged to control the look-up device to cause it to perform a look-up action in response to opening of a lid for replacement of the record bearing medium and to cut off the power supply upon completion of the look-up action. The control unit thus lowers electric energy consumption and saves electric energy from being wasted by the look-up action.

Claims

1. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprising:

(a) means for loading a recording medium on said apparatus;

(b) means for detecting the presence or absence of information recorded at recording or reproducing position on said recording medium loaded on the apparatus;

(c) supply means for supplying electric energy at least to said detecting means; and

(d) control means for causing said supply means to supply said electric energy to said detecting means in response to a loading action of said loading means and for causing the supply means to stop in accordance with the completion of the detection action of said detecting means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

(e) recording means for recording on said recording medium, said recording means being able to access to each of recording or reproducing positions on said recording medium.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

(f) driving means for driving said recording means to access to an unrecorded position on said recording medium in accordance with the result of detection made by said detecting means.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said detecting means is arranged to reproduce information recorded in each of said recording or reproducing positions one after another and to make a discrimination between the presence and absence of an existing record according to the level of the reproduction output thus obtained.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said loading means includes:

(a) an accommodation chamber for accommodating said recording medium; and

(b) loading detection means for detecting the presence or absence of said recording medium in said accommodation chamber.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said control means is arranged to cause said supply means to supply said electric energy when the presence of an existing record on said recording medium is detected by said loading detection means.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said supply means is arranged to supply electric energy to the apparatus including said detecting means.

8. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus arranged to permit an interchange of record bearing media and to permit selection of a recording or reproducing mode of operation on the record bearing medium, comprising:

(a) search means for searching the presence of absence of information recorded in each of the recording or reproducing positions on said recording medium; and

(b) control means which is arranged to hold a power supply on even after completion of searching operation performed by said search means in a reproducing mode and to cut off said power supply after completion of said searching operation by said search means in a recording mode.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

(c) switching means for switching said recording mode over to said reproducing mode and vice versa.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

(d) recording or reproducing means arranged to be accessible to each of recording or reproducing positions on said record bearing medium and to perform recording or reproduction in the accessed position; and

(e) access position control means for controlling said recording or reproducing means to have access to a position which varies according to a reproducing mode or a recording mode upon completion of a searching operation performed by said search means.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said access position control means is arranged to cause said recording or reproducing means to have access to an unrecorded part of said record bearing medium in the recording mode and to have access to an end part of said medium in the recording mode.

12. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said search means is arranged to detect the presence or absence of information recorded according to the reproduction output of said recording or reproducing means obtained by reproducing the record of each of the recording or reproducing positions on said record bearing medium.

13. An apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a power source controlled by said control means, said power source arranged to supply electric energy at least to said search means.

14. A recording apparatus arranged to permit an interchange of record bearing media, comprising:

(a) search means for searching the presence or absence of information recorded in each of recording or reproducing positions on said record bearing medium with which said apparatus is loaded;

(b) memory means arranged to store the result of a searching operation by said search means and to store a check code along with said result of the searching operation; and

(c) control means arranged to read out and discriminate said check code stored by said memory means and to control the operation of said search means on the basis of the result of said discrimination.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

(d) recording means for recording on said recording medium, said recording means being arranged to be capable of having access to each of recording or reproducing positions on said recording medium.

16. An apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising driving means for driving said recording means to have access to an unrecorded part of said medium on the basis of the result of the search operation performed by said search means.

17. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said control means is arranged to cause said search means to perform a look-up action when said read-out check code fails to coincide with a predetermined code.

18. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said predetermined code is identical with said check code.

19. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said detecting means is arranged to reproduce a record in each of said recording or reproducing positions one after another and to make a discrimination between the presence and absence of an existing record according to the level of the reproduction output thus obtained.

20. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus arranged to permit an interchange of record bearing media, comprising:

(a) search means for searching the presence of absence of information recorded in each of recording or reproducing positions on said record bearing medium loaded on said apparatus;

(b) means arranged to store a head position signal according to an electrical signal which is produced for driving said head;

(c) detecting means for detecting the position of said head; and

(d) control means for operating said search means according to the result of comparison between said head position signal stored by said store means and a position signal produced by said detecting means.

21. An apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising recording means for recording on said recording medium, said recording means being arranged to be capable of having access to each of recording or reproducing positions on said recording medium.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising driving means for driving said recording means to access to an unrecorded part of said medium on the basis of the result of searching operation performed by said search means.

23. An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said electrical signal is a pulse signal;

and said memory means includes counting means for counting the pulses of said pulse signal.

24. An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said detecting means includes a switch device for detecting the shift of said head to a predetermined position.

25. An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said control means is arranged to actuate said search means when said head position signal and the position signal of said detecting means do not coincide with each other.

26. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus arranged to permit an interchange of a recording medium, comprising:

(a) switching means for changing a recording mode over to a reproducing mode of said apparatus;

(b) search means for searching the presence or absence of information recorded at recording or reproducing positions on said recording medium which is loaded on said apparatus; and

(c) control means for causing said search means to perform a searching operation in response to change-over by said switching means.

27. An apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising:

(d) recording and reproducing means for recording and reproducing on and from said recording medium, said recording and reproducing means being arranged to be to access to each of recording or reproducing positions on said recording medium.

28. An apparatus according to claim 27, further comprising driving means for driving said recording and reproducing means to access to an unrecorded part or a recorded part of said medium on the basis of the result of a search operation performed by said search means.

29. An apparatus according to claim 27, further comprising instructing means arranged to give an instruction for changing the accessing position of said recording and reproducing means in response to a manual operation in said reproducing mode.

30. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said switching means is arranged to effect change-over between the recording mode and the reproducing mode in response to a manual operation.

31. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said detecting means is arranged to reproduce a record in each of said recording or reproducing positions one after another and to make a discrimination between the presence and absence of an existing record according to the level of the reproduction output thus obtained.

32. A discriminating device for making a discrimination between the presence and absence of information recorded at recording track formed on a recording medium, comprising:

(a) detecting means for detecting the level of said signal recorded by making a check from an end to the other end of said recording track; and

(b) discriminating means for determining the presence of information recorded in said whole track before completion of detection of the signal level of the whole of said track in case that the result of detection being made by said detecting means comes to reach a predetermined reference value.

33. A device according to claim 32, wherein said recording medium is disk shape and said detecting means includes:

(a) a head arranged to be shiftable along said track and relative to said track;

(b) a motor arranged to rotate said recording medium relative to said head;

(c) periodic signal forming means for forming a periodic signal according as the rotation of said motor; and

(d) sampling means arranged to sample, in synchronism with said periodic signal of said periodic signal forming means, a signal outputted by said head.

34. An apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said predetermined reference value represents a point where the signal level of said track sampled by said sampling means exceed a predetermined value for a consecutive number of times exceeding a predetermined number of times.

35. An apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said periodic signal is used for controlling the rotating state of said motor.

36. An apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said predetermined reference value represents a point where the sum of the signal levels sampled by said sampling means has come to exceed a predetermined value.

37. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus including a power supply which is usable with an external device having an electric circuit connected thereto, comprising control means arranged to inhibit the supply of said power supply to the electric circuit of said external device until completion of an initial setting action on a head relative to a recording medium.

38. An apparatus according to claim 37, wherein said external device has an electrical processing circuit which is arranged to process a reproduction output of said recording or reproducing apparatus.

39. An apparatus according to claim 37, further comprising a power supply terminal provided for power supply to the electric circuit of said external device.

40. An apparatus according to claim 39, further comprising a switch interposed in between said power supply and said power supply terminal.

41. An apparatus according to claim 37, wherein said initial setting action is performed for causing said head to have access to a predetermined position on said recording medium.

42. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus arranged to permit an interchange of a recording medium, comprising:

(a) means for generating an instruction for replacement of said recording medium;

(b) recording means for performing recording on said recording medium;

(c) supply means for supplying electric energy; and

(d) control means for causing said supply means to supply electric energy at least to a part of said apparatus to enable said part to perform a predetermined action in response to said instruction generated by said generating means in case that no electric energy supply is being effected by said supply means.

43. An apparatus according to claim 42, further comprising changing means for changing the recording position of said recording means relative to said recording medium.

44. An apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said predetermined action is to operate said changing means, such that the recording position of said recording means is changed.