Power saving method and apparatus for intermittently reading reproduction apparatus

• US 5,502,700 A
• Filed: 09/28/1994
• Issued: 03/26/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shinada, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Epps, Georgia Y.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUBER, PAUL W
• Application Number:
  US08/314,064
• Time in Patent Office: 545 Days
• Field of Search: 369/32, 369/58, 369/60, 369/116, 369/50, 369/44.28, 369/48, 369/54, 360/75, 360/73.02, 360/73.03
• US Class Current: 369/47.11
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/00 Driving, starting, stopping record carriers not specifically of filamentary or web form, or of supports therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function ; Driving both disc and head
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/20 Driving; Starting; Stopping; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10685 input interface, i.e. the way data enter the buffer, e.g. by informing the sender that the buffer is busy
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10731 wherein the buffer I/O can be temporarily suspended, e.g. by refusing to accept further data to be buffered
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1074 involving a specific threshold value
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• 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 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/913 Digital audio tape [DAT] format
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• 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

Abstract

A reproducing or recording/reproducing apparatus having a constitution in which produced data read from a recording medium is stored in memory at a first transfer rate in a unit time and the stored data is read at a second transfer rate lower than the first transfer rate in the unit time. An operation of means for reading the reproduced data from the recording medium is stopped when an mount of the data accumulated in the storage means gets larger than a predetermined amount, allowing to save the power for driving the apparatus.

Claims

1. Any one of a reproducing apparatus and a recording/reproducing apparatus comprising:

data reading means for reading data from a recording medium;

driven means, supplied with a drive signal from a driving means, for driving the recording medium with respect to the data reading means;

buffer memory means into which reproduced data read from the recording medium by the data reading means is written at a first transfer rate and from which the stored reproduced data is read at a second transfer rate, the second transfer rate being lower than the first transfer rate;

switching means for selectively switching off power to the driving means such that the driving means does not provide the drive signal to the driven means; and

control means for controlling an on/off switching operation of the switching means according to an amount of the reproduced data accumulated in the storage means.

2. Any one of a reproducing apparatus and a recording/reproducing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein.

when the amount of the reproduced data accumulated in the storage means is smaller than a predetermined amount, the control means controls the switching means to supply power to the drive means, such that the drive means supplies the drive signal to the driving means, and

when the amount of the reproduced data accumulated in the storage means is greater than the predetermined amount, the control means controls the switching means to shut off power to the drive means, such that the drive means does not supply the drive signal to the driving means.

3. Any one of a reproducing apparatus and a recording/reproducing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount is greater than an amount of the reproduced data read from the storage means, at the second transfer rate, between a time when the control means controls the switching means to shut off power to the driving means, such that the driving means does not provide the drive signal to the driven means, and a time when the control means controls the switching means to supply power to the driving means, such that the driving means provides the drive signal to the driven means.

4. Any one of a reproducing apparatus and a recording/reproducing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the driven means comprises at least any one or more of a focus coil, a tracking coil, a spindle motor, and a feed motor.