Recording/reproducing device

• US 5,153,861 A
• Filed: 12/13/1989
• Issued: 10/06/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Maeda, Shigemi, Terashima, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Envall, Jr., Roy N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dang, Hung
• Application Number:
  US07/450,254
• Time in Patent Office: 1,028 Days
• Field of Search: 369/32, 369/30, 369/33, 369/56, 369/58, 369/59, 369/47, 369/44.26, 369/83, 369/275.3, 369/24, 360/72.1, 360/72.2, 360/8, 360/27, 360/13, 360/135, 358/310, 358/311, 358/342
• US Class Current: 369/30.07
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10502 characterised by the transducing operation to be executed
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10563 Access of indexed parts
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10595 Control of operating function
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/24 Arrangements for providing constant relative speed between record carrier and head
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2525 Magneto-optical [MO] discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/913 Digital audio tape [DAT] format
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/007 reproducing continuously a part of the information, i.e. repeating
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/22 Means responsive to presence or absence of recorded information signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/00557 involving phase-change media

Abstract

In a recording/reproducing device in accordance with the present invention, recording or reproducing positions are recognized by using absolute address parts which are predeterminately formed in a rewritable recording medium. Moreover, the device is composed so that the user can easily edit reproducing procedures stored in memory means with respect to each information in the recording medium by using the recording or reproducing positions read from above-mentioned absolute address parts and he/she can also rewrite above-mentioned reproducing procedures edited by him/her in the lead-in region of the above-mentioned recording medium. Accordingly, the user can save trouble to re-enter those reproducing procedures every time he/she places the recording medium in the recording/reproducing device, and once the recording medium having the edited reproducing procedure information recorded in the lead-in area is placed in the recording/reproducing device, successive reproductions of each information according to desired reproducing procedures are easily performed, thereby resulting in an improved operability.

Claims

1. A recording/reproducing device for a rewritable recording medium, said rewritable recording medium including,

an information recording region for storing information,

a lead-in region for storing additional information concerning the information stored in the information recording region, and

absolute address parts formed in each of the information recording and lead-in regions for providing absolute addresses indicating positions for recording and reproducing;

and

said recording/reproducing device comprising;

input means for entering instructions and information to operate said recording/reproducing device;

memory means, which utilizes the absolute address parts, to store the additional information in the lead-in region which was read when said rewritable recording medium was placed in said device, the additional information including identification numbers, and recording ranges, which have been recently recorded in the information recording region and other additional information entered externally from an operator for specifying reproducing procedures for the information stored in the information recording region;

recording means for recording the additional information stored in said memory means in the lead-in region on said rewritable recording medium while recording information in the information recording region;

reproducing means for successively reproducing the information recorded in the information recording region according to the additional information for specifying reproducing procedures stored in said memory means;

display means for displaying the additional information stored in said memory means, while also displaying the reproducing positions corresponding to the absolute address parts when reproducing the information stored in the information recording region; and

control means for reading the absolute address parts in accordance with the recording and reproducing positions, the additional information stored in said memory means, when said rewritable recording medium is placed into said recording/reproducing device or when the instructions from said input means are entered, and for permitting said recording/reproducing device to perform predetermined operations such as recording or reproducing, said control means including,

a controller for controlling an optical head driver serving as said recording and reproducing means so as to apply a light beam with sufficient output for recording to and reproducing from said rewritable recording medium, and for releasing information of recording/reproducing positions to said optical head driver;

wherein said controller rewrites contents of the lead-in region of said rewritable recording medium when recording of the information is finished, immediately before the recording medium is taken out of said recording/reproducing device or when instructions from the user are entered via said input means.

2. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said input means includes a group of operation keys with which an operator enters instructions required to operate said recording/reproducing device, information concerning the reproducing order, information concerning the reproducing number of the information stored on said rewritable recording medium, and control information for said control means.

3. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said memory means includes a TOC memory which stores identification numbers, recording start positions according to the absolute address parts and the control information necessary to perform a reproducing operation.

4. The recording/reproducing device of claim 3, wherein said TOC memory stores the identification numbers and recording positions according to the absolute address parts during a recording operation when the user enters predetermined instructions to said control means via said input means.

5. The recording/reproducing device of claim 3, wherein said TOC memory stores the identification numbers and recording start positions where the user enters predetermined instructions based on a sub-code.

6. The recording/reproducing device of claim 3, wherein said TOC memory stores the reproducing order and the reproducing number while said recording/reproducing device is in a stand-by state or in a reproducing operation.

7. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said recording means includes,

a magnetic coil for applying magnetic fields varying according to recording signals onto said rewritable recording medium;

and

a coil driver for inducing magnetic fields varying according to the recording signals on said magnetic coil.

8. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said recording means includes,

an optical head for applying a light beam with an output required for recording in a recording part of said rewritable recording medium, and

a second optical head driver for driving said optical head to the recording part.

9. The recording/reproducing device of claim 8, wherein said optical head applies a light beam with a higher output then a reproducing light beam to the recording parts of said rewritable recording medium when recording such that a local temperature of the recording parts is raised to a Curie temperature, a coercive force on the recording parts is decreased, and the recording parts are magnetized in a same direction as magnetic fields applied by a magnetic coil in order to perform information recording.

10. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said recording means includes,

an optical head for applying a light beam with an output sufficient for reproducing in a reproducing part of said rewritable recording medium, and

a second optical head driver for driving said optical head to the reproducing part.

11. The recording/reproducing device of claim 10, wherein when said optical head applies a light beam with a lower output than a recording light beam to the reproducing parts of said rewritable recording medium, said optical head detects a polarization with rotated polarization plane according to a direction of magnetization in the reproducing parts of said rewritable recording medium, converts the polarization into electric signals and outputs the electrical signals to a reproducing amplifier for amplifying audio signal elements corresponding to information recorded on said rewritable recording medium and outputs the electric signals to an uneven signal reproducing amplifier for amplifying uneven signal elements corresponding to the information of absolute address parts.

12. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, said display means including,

liquid crystal display means for displaying the identification number, the recording ranges, and elapsed time according to the instructions of said control means when the reproducing operation is performed according to the reproducing procedures information.

13. The recording/reproducing device of claim 12, wherein said display means displays additional information read from the lead-in region according to the instructions entered by said input means, regarding the reproducing order, reproducing number of each information.

14. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said controller transmits information of recording positions to a coil driver in order to drive a magnetic coil to a recording part.

15. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said controller receives information of recording/reproducing positions on said rewritable recording medium from an address decoder which converts uneven signal elements into digital signals having a fixed data format, and recognizes said absolute addresses received from the address decoder.

16. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said controller reads additional information recorded in a lead-in region and instructs said memory means to store said additional information when said rewritable recording medium is placed in said recording/reproducing device.

17. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said controller reads additional information concerning reproducing procedures from the memory means and stores the reproducing procedures when a reproducing instruction is entered by the input means, and validates the position of information to be reproduced while comparing it with the information of reproducing positions read from the absolute addresses entered from the address decoder, thereby permitting the recording/reproducing device to perform a reproducing operation according to the specified reproducing procedures.

18. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said controller reads additional information concerning the reproducing precedure, such as reproducing number for each information according to instructions entered by said input means for permitting said display means to display the additional information.

19. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said rewritable recording medium is that of a rewritable disk type or a card type.

20. The recording/reproducing device of claim 19, wherein said rewritable recording medium is a magneto-optical disk to be recorded or reproduced magneto-optically.

21. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said rewritable recording medium includes a recording layer formed of amorphous alloy and is provided for recording or reproducing information by using a phase change.

22. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein said rewritable recording medium is a digital audio tape.

23. The recording/reproducing device of claim 1, wherein each of the absolute address parts has a data format including,

a preamble for reproduction synchronization,

an address mark for indicating a head of each absolute address parts,

an address number for indicating each address which is successively incrementing, beginning from an intermost-track of said rewritable recording medium, and

an error detection code for detecting errors when the address numbers are not successively incremented.

24. The recording/reproducing device of claim 23, wherein each of the absolute address parts is formed on said rewritable recording medium at such intervals that the address decoder can identify an absolute address once every second according to a constant linear velocity which said reproducing means provides to said rewritable recording medium.

25. The recording/reproducing device of claim 23, wherein each of the absolute address parts are preformed on said rewritable recording medium is physically uneven pit-like shape.

26. The recording/reproducing device of claim 23, wherein each of the absolute address parts are preformed on a recording layer of said rewritable recording medium made of amorphous alloy by using a phase change between crystalline structure and non-crystalline structure.

27. The recording/reproducing device of claim 7, wherein each of said recording signals has a data format of one frame of information including:

a frame synchronizing signal,

a data field having data of 24 bytes corresponding to information and an additional parity of 8 bytes for error detection and correction, and

a sub-code wherein the identification number, and time information, for each of the data fields are recorded.

28. The recording/reproducing device of claim 19, wherein said rewritable disk type recording medium is controlled by constant linear velocity control means so as to have a constant linear velocity to said recording and reproducing means according to radius positional information read from the absolute address parts formed on said rewritable recording medium.

29. The recording/reproducing device of claim 28, wherein said constant linear velocity control means includes a CLV control circuity and a rotary encoder.

30. The recording/reproducing device of claim 29, wherein said CLV control circuit, when the radius positional information read from the absolute address parts formed on said rewritable recording medium is entered therein from said control means, finds a pulse frequency reference value of the rotary encoder at the radius positon, and controls said rewritable recording medium to keep a constant linear velocity to said recording and reproducing means of said rewritable recording medium by setting a pulse frequency of the rotary encoder according to an actual revolving velocity of the rotational driving means equal to the pulse frequency reference value.